


Lost and Locked Up

by perseajackson



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis (Comics)
Genre: Arkham Asylum, Batman - Freeform, Jason Todd - Freeform, Other, Self Harm, Suicide mention, Torture, Violence, a character gets branded, arkham knight au but different than canon AK stuff, bad torture stuff happens inside arkham so, batfam, batfam with an oc!, everything is familial relationships, in which an oc is the third robin, oc is robin, uh, yall its a batman fic u kno there arent gonna be daisies and frolicking ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-05-24 04:51:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 69
Words: 85,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14947913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perseajackson/pseuds/perseajackson
Summary: Jason Todd, Batman’s second Robin, was kidnapped by the Joker at age 16. He was missing for two months, until the Joker sent Batman a video of him taunting the boy and his mentor before shooting the teenager on camera, seemingly killing him with one shot.Several months later, Katherine Vantas, a freshman at Gotham Academy, became Bruce Wayne’s third ward and, eventually, Batman’s third Robin.This is a story about family, sacrifice, loss, and redemption.This is a story of Robins.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT:
> 
> This story includes two main original characters as well as many original background and supporting characters. This story includes violence (it /is/ a Batman fic), some moderate leveled gore, mentions of suicide, self harm, gun violence, a character being temporarily electrocuted, a character being branded (like with hot metal on flesh), talk of abuse, and some hallucinations. There will be trigger warnings at the beginning of every chapter, but please read at your own risk. Nothing too graphically descriptive; the action of self harm includes scratching wrists to bleeding and descriptions from a very low mental state. The tones throughout the story tend to try to be light to counter and balance the subject matters. This is about relationships between characters and personal struggles. 
> 
> Again, please read at your own risk, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \---
> 
> A/N: 
> 
> hello everyone!! welcome to angst town, please buckle up because you are in for a Ride.
> 
> Some beginning notes: like I mentioned in the beginning notes A/N, there's a lot of stuff in this story that could trigger people. I'm gonna do my best to put trigger warnings in author notes at the beginning of every chapter where they're necessary, but like things don't get wildly graphic. The main things I worry about triggering people are like the self harm things?? I feel like that'll be a lot more sensitive and iffy for people reading than, like, the stuff where theres a video of Jason Todd getting shot dead by the Joker (because.. u kno.. i tagged this story with the arkham knight stuff, so im assuming?? that if you read this you know thats either mentioned/known/ may be shown ??????)
> 
> Just read at your own risk!! please feel free to message me on instagram (@ultimumkit/ @auxiliarykit) if you have questions about any warnings or concerns about content following a TW:.
> 
> bonus!!! this story is actually ALREADY FINISHED,,,, now i am just posting it to ao3 lmao so. do not fret about it being left unfinished. it is entirely written and formatted, it just all has to be posted now. so stay tuned!
> 
> alright gang.,,, here.. we... gO!!!

The air was stale. It always was at Arkham Asylum.

The exterior of the asylum was gorgeous. Victorian in style and design, consistent with the original mansion where the heart of “treatments” for the insane and mentally ill began more than a hundred years ago. The gloomy yet elegant grounds encased in a tall, black steel, pointed fence seemed to always have a different air about them, somehow fresher than the inside of the actual building, but still dank and heavy, as if the sins and spirits of the past made up the air itself.

Security was always stationed all over the place. Inmates- or rather, _patients_ \- would sometimes manage to slip away from the nurses and try to roam the grounds themself, some would say they tried escaping, but it was simple common knowledge that one patient could not _escape_ if they were not cured of their mental ailment. Either cured or, sometimes, assisted with monetary arrangements.

Nevertheless, security and trained nurses kept constant watch and patrol of the many halls and corridors of Arkham. The doctors on hand could usually be found with patients, in their offices, or sometimes enjoying the grounds themselves as they worked. Sometimes patients could be found enjoying the same pleasures or participating in various recreational activities Arkham Asylum offered- constantly monitored, of course.

At this particular moment, a van bringing in newly admitted patients was arriving. The patients had not yet been dressed in the red jumpsuit, styled not too differently from traditional prison jumpsuits, and were being led from their arrival vehicle and into the front of the Asylum. The administrative director and a team of security and nurses waited out front to greet the new patients.

Some patients had to be taken directly into rooms for immediate attention for their issues and ailments. Most other patients were taken to be cleaned of any contamination of where they may have come from and fitted into standard Arkham Asylum patient jumpsuits. As the patients were led down the halls to their rooms, some would attempt to peek into the small, barred windows on each patient’s door to get a glimpse of their new neighbour. One patient in particular stopped to peek into a room out of pure curiosity (and possibly to say hello!), peering through the window. Inside, he saw a girl sitting against the wall  with her arms resting on her knees and her head dipped between them, long, wavy black hair cascading around her. Her jumpsuit was removed around the torso. arms tied around the waist, leaving her in just a thin white tank top for the top of her outfit. She didn't look physically much older than a teenager (not that age ever mattered to the Asylum- no patient was turned away!), but her arms were more toned than a normal teenager’s should be.

She must have somehow noticed him staring in, because her head tilted up, and he got a glimpse of blue before she was suddenly at the door, slamming her hand on her side of it next to the window. He jumped in surprise, and a nurse came to grab him and tear him away. The last things he saw before he was put back in line to be taken to his own room was blue eyes with dark circles beneath them, and burned- no, _branded_ into the skin beneath her right collarbone, visible under the strap of her tank top, was the symbol of the Batman.


	2. One

Patient No. 2968 was being led back to her room. If you asked her, she would tell you that she was being shoved back to her cell, still trembling after another session of “treatment”. The cuffs around her wrists were two bracelets that locked together with a remote control the nurses had, and they only released the locking mechanism once she was locked inside the cell.

“Don’t be doing anything silly in there today, miss,” one of the nurses told her. He patted the door by the window as he looked in at her.

“Me? Silly?” she said in an even tone. She turned around and stared at the nurse through the window, her eyes wide, mouth set in a very small smile. “Think you’ve got the wrong prisoner,” she told them, spreading her hands. 

“Tell that to the reports we had to fill out about you tryin’ to strangle yourself with your sleeves the other day,” the nurse countered. “And the incident with the toothbrush, the plastic cutlery, and those mysterious bruises and scrapes we keep findin’ all over you.”

“I  _ told _ you, I was testing how long I could hold my breath with those sleeves,” 2968 said, going up to the door and crossing her arms. “All those other things are just weird coincidences, don’t you think?”

“Uh huh,” said the nurse with a patronizing smirk. “Coincidences don’t get you sent here, miss-”

“I have a  _ name _ . It’s Annemarie Baldwin. I’m twenty-seven years old, and my father is an aristocrat in the Caribbean-”

“Yeah, exactly. Tellin us ten different names and ten different backstories don’t help, either, Miss Parker.” The nurse leaned closer to the window. “You’re crazy just like all the others. Just came to you at an earlier age, dinnit?”

“I really don’t know how many times I have to tell you dingbats that I’m not crazy for you to get it. I can recite the entire play of  _ Hamlet _ right now if you wanted to hear it.”

“Smarts and crazies are two different things, kid. Though maybe if it gets boring later, I’ll take you up on that  _ Hamlet _ offer.” The nurse then turned around and left, leaving 2968 alone with no one but the silent security guard who’d been appointed to stay guard outside her room twenty-four-seven.

She sighed, dropping her expression back to the resting exhaustion that seemed to have settled onto her features permanently in the last three weeks she’d been locked up in Arkham Asylum. Trudging back over to her pathetic cot, she sat down and hugged her knees, leaning her head against the wall. She shut her eyes, half hoping to get some sleep to make the time pass faster but half dreading sleep. She could hardly tell nightmares from memories anymore, but they came to her all the same whenever she shut her eyes.

\---

Robin was out on a solo mission. Batman knew, probably (she’d left a note), but she’d wanted to get some new insight on a random new threat that had risen up in the last week or two. Some guy called himself the Arkham Knight, but no one had really seen him yet. Those who had were the ones who worked for him. They described him mostly as “scarier than Batman”. A description Batman had not taken lightly. But Robin had discovered intel that the Arkham Knight would be overseeing some operation while she’d been doing something else that night. She should have called Batman right away, but she knew if she did, he would tell her not to go near the Knight and to wait for him. But if she did that, she would lose the window to spy on the Knight. So she made the decision to seek out the Knight and do some recon alone, preparing a very long apology speech in her head the entire way to the Narrows.

She watched from the shadows and various hiding spots as the men who worked under the Knight did a pretty tedious arms transfer through the streets of the Narrows. She could have stopped them and sabotaged the operation if she’d wanted to, but she knew she was already trying Batman’s forgiveness with just being here alone in the first place. So she stayed put and watched, observed, recorded what she could. 

Robin followed the goons until they were down by the docks. There she overheard someone with a voice filter speaking something about Arkham Asylum. She recorded the conversation best she could, but her blood turned to ice when she heard him mention the Joker. 

Robin had been in a few encounters with the Joker in her almost three years as Batman’s sidekick, but she could never manage to stop her arms and legs from the slight tremble from even the name of her predecessor’s murderer. And it sounded like the Arkham Knight was working with him. Bad bad bad.

She caught a glimpse of him then- a metallic suit of armour and a head with achingly familiar pointed ears on top. He turned and she saw the red eyes displayed from his helmet, and she decided enough was enough. She replaced her equipment back into her belt quickly and took off back into the shadows. She didn’t have to fake the fear Batman would see on her face as she told him what she’d discovered. Maybe he would forgive her easier after her rehearsed, and now sincere, promises to never go near the Knight alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> AND SO IT BEGINS


	3. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS:
> 
> suicide mention, physical abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> so i'll be adding trigger warnings to the beginnings of each chapter where they're relevant in the chapter summary boxes! things don't get too explicit or buck wild, but i figure better safe than sorry, i'd rather everyone know there'll be mentions of things just in case instead of someone accidentally getting thrown off the handle. 
> 
> like i said, though- nothing is super explicit (and if things do get more descriptive or anything, i will mention it), and generally if i say "suicide/self harm mention" it's like, someone references suicide or suicidal thoughts or something or self harm or scars or something like that. anyway- please enjoy !!!

“So was it family troubles that made ya wanna kill yourself?”

“Pass.”

“Hmm, that’s a _yes_. Was it family troubles that made ya get into a kerfuffle with the Batman?”

“Did you just say _kerfuffle?_ ”

“Take that as a yes, too.” The doctor took a few notes and smiled over her clipboard. “How’d you manage to run into the Batman, then?”

“How do you people keep assuming that I have any business with Bat-guy? I don’t see a neon sign above my head or nothin’.”

“That branding you keep visible is neon sign enough, sweetums.”

“It keeps lots of the _real_ crazies here off my back.”

“Keep ‘em starin’ at your front so you can keep track of who’s at your back, then? Defensive tactics, smart.”

“You know, Dr. Quinzel, it’d be a lot easier to believe this genuine session and your genuine desire to help me or whatever if I wasn’t strapped down here on this couch thing.” 2968 flapped her hands that were bound to her sides for good measure. “Also, my nose itches.”

“The big man says you’ve been put under full-time watch, which means you got the big guns watchin ya, girlie,” Harleen told her with a smile. She leaned forward and stage whispered, “And me sayin ‘big guns’ ain’t just a metaphor either!”

“I have some questions for you, Dr. Quinzel,” 2968 said, cocking her head to the side. “How did you manage to go from running around with that Joker guy to working back here as a psychologist again?”

“Some of us don’t question good things that come to them,” Harleen told her with a wink.

“You mean you being here is a good thing for you or for me?”

“Let’s say… both!”

“I dunno, maybe a good thing for you, but you’d only be a good thing for me if the Joker hadn’t scrambled your brains-”

The next sound was the crack of Harleen’s clipboard flying across 2968’s face and a grunt of pain in response.

“I like you, hon. You’ve got a good fire about ya,” Harleen said, her voice sweet as if she hadn’t just physically assaulted her patient. 2968 groaned, and Harleen grabbed the girl’s chin with her hand and looked at her head. “Looks like ya need some hair care! Your roots are showing through this black mess- is that blonde or brown I see?”

“Natural blonde,” 2968 said, spitting some blood out of her mouth and onto either Harleen’s white coat or her own lap. “But it’s darkened as I got older.”

“I’m a natural blonde, too!” Harleen exclaimed. “What’re the odds!”

“Crazy, right?”

“Yeah!” 2968 snorted. “What made ya leave the beautiful blonde life for this nasty black?” Harleen asked as she ran her hands through 2968’s hair.

“Mid-teenage crisis,” 2968 offered. “Probably the reason I snapped and ended up here.”

“Oh, do continue with that,” Harleen said excitedly, sitting back down in her chair.

“Well, I guess it started with the abuse at home. My entire family took turns beating me in the living room, calling me a freak and stuff, you know how it goes.”

“Yes, yes of course. They just could never understand, could they hon?” Harleen said sympathetically as she wrote on her clipboard.

“Never ever!” 2968 agreed. “Ended up tossin’ me to the streets like a sack of old bread. It’s easy to kill yourself on the streets, you know. You can do it yourself or get others to do it for ya. And if you’re gonna get someone else to off you, you gotta make it _count_ , you know?”

“Yes, go on, go on!”

“Thought to myself- hey, why not go out with the biggest bang ever- get the Batman to kill ya!”

“You know Batman doesn’t kill though,” Harleen said. She looked to her notes and muttered as she wrote, “Not too bright after all, this one.”

“Please, Dr. Quinzel, of _course_ I know he don’t kill. That’s why I was gonna be the first!” 2968 said excitedly. Harleen saw the madness in the young girl’s eyes and leaned forward excitedly, ready to hear this plan, when a nurse and two security guards entered the room.

“Hour’s up, Quinn,” the nurse said. He nodded at the guards. “Get her. We’re going to the treatment room.”

“No!” Harleen shouted, standing up and pointing her pencil at the guards as they started to approach 2968. “We’re on the verge of a breakthrough here!!!”

“Well your breakthrough’s gonna have to wait till Monday, Quinn,” the nurse said, his voice tired as if just a mere minute with Harleen was enough to make him need a nap.

“That’s not how this works, you silly goose!” Harleen pulled a white and red revolver out of her coat and aimed it at the nurse. “Session isn’t over till the docta says it is!”

The nurse rolled his eyes. “You think we didn’t make sure you had no ammo for that thing when we found it weeks ago?” he asked tiredly. “You’re just as crazy as the nutjobs here, lady.”

“Ooh, careful,” 2968 warned with a grin as the guards removed the bindings around her and activated her cuffs with her hands behind her back. “I got a clipboard to the face earlier for a comment not too far from that.”

The nurse sighed. “You’re not s’posed to get physical with your patients, Quinn.”

Harleen ignored him and waved her hand at 2968 as she was ushered out. “You keep that story hot and ready for next session, dearie, you got that?!”

“Got it, no problem!” 2968 called over her shoulder. “See ya in a few days, Dr. Quinzel!”

 _If I survive this crack joint another four days,_ she thought to herself as the guards shoved her down the hall.

 

\---

 

Robin stuck close to Batman in the days following her outing where she saw the Arkham Knight. He’d only gotten onto her until he realized she’d been silent through his entire lecture, realized how shaken she’d been, and accepted her apology with a hug.  


Together, they’d managed to ruin a few of the Arkham Knight’s plans, but the Knight seemed to be almost always three steps ahead of them. Whenever they fought the men who worked for the Knight (who all wore similar silver armour to each other and helmets that Robin said looked like space helmets from _Mass Effect_ ), there always seemed to be a particular interest among the henchmen for attacking Robin. There were enough close calls after a week that Batman benched her for every mission pertaining to the Arkham Knight. Nightwing assisted on occasion in her place while Katherine sat at home in the manor, frustrated and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> howdy friends!! hope everyone's doing well today. or tonight. or whatever time ur reading this.
> 
> i got everything formatted and ready to go today, and the final chapter count of the fic is 65 chapters, an epilogue, prologue, and two bonus chapters that aren't numbered. so i guess like. 69 total?? i dunno. who has time for math? not i! 
> 
> updates will come hopefully every few days! i intend on having this entire thing posted before september when i go back to school. 
> 
> stay frosty ♦♦♦


	4. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> torture, mention of electrocution, physical abuse, brief needles/injection

2968 could only hold in the screams for so long, much to her frustration. She didn’t know what kind of electricity they were electrocuting her with, but she decided it stung worse and went deeper than normal electricity. After the full-body shock therapy, she was put in another room for “physical training”, i.e. the guards pitting the inmates against each other for entertainment in between therapy sessions. Today she was set up against inmate no. 5211, some scraggly freak who nicknamed himself ‘Bingo’. He was very unpredictable. She’d had to fight Bingo, like, five times, and it sucked every time. The room was only about 10x15 feet, and it was nowhere near enough space for a proper fight. But here at Arkham, nothing was ever proper.

She was at a disadvantage today, though, thanks to the electricity making all her limbs like jelly. Bingo got a few cheap shots in before 2968 managed to land a suckerpunch to his gut and towered over him as he doubled over. It only took her thirty seconds to beat the crap out of him- for the sixth time- and the guards came in to grab her and remove her before she could kill him. It took her fifteen seconds to take down both guards, and thanks to the prior shock treatment, the stab with one of the guards’ electrified staff hardly did more than make her grit her teeth. It took four more guards and two nurses to rush in before 2968 apparently got bored and simply stood away from her victims with her hands in the air. That didn’t stop the guards from beating her until she fell to her knees, activating her cuffs behind her back and shoving her out of the room. She thought they would lock her back up in her room or something, but was surprised when they took her down an unfamiliar set of corridors. 

“Where are we going?” she asked, but no one answered her. “Hey, idiots! I asked where we’re going!”

Soon they ended up in a room that didn’t look too different from the shower rooms, except it was one big stall.

“What is this? What is going on?” she demanded. Her protests got louder as two nurses came and attached her cuffs to something on the wall. The next thing she knew she was being blasted with freezing water, moving and squirming for a bit out of shock and initial panic, but 2968 managed to force herself to stand mostly still against the wall, trying her best to just take the blasting freezing water. 

After what felt like forever of torture, she stared ahead through her dark, dripping bangs, and stared at the nurses across the room from her. 

“I will kill you,” she said, her voice shaking. “I will kill  _ all of you _ .” The nurses looked at each other before being blasting her with bruising force again.

2968 didn’t even protest when they stripped her, put her in a dry jumpsuit, and put her in a straight jacket. She stayed silent as they pushed her down the hall and stumbled when they shoved her into the white padded solitary confinement room. She turned and caught a glimpse of the nurse shutting her in before all she saw was her red legs and white.

 

\---

 

Joseph Klein stood anxiously outside the open door. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door and watching as the Arkham Knight looked up from the folder he was reading. 

“Klein, perfect,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for your report.”

“Yes, sir,” Joseph said. He approached the Knight and handed him the red folder in his hand. “Everything appears to be on schedule, and apparently there are some good candidates.”

“Perfect!” the Knight said. “Then our attack will go all according to plan.”

“Sir, um, if I may,” Joseph said carefully. “Why Arkham Asylum? Why now?”

“I have a feeling some of your peers are asking the same thing,” the Knight said, placing the folder on the table. “The reason is because that is the entire first phase. The final phase will be to finally remove our obstacle keeping us from controlling crime in Gotham.”

“And the second phase, sir?”

Somehow, Joseph got the feeling that the Knight was grinning under his helmet when he responded. “The second phase? That's the fun part.”

 

\---

 

2968 lost track of how long she spent in the padded room. She’d never experienced anything like it before, and she might have honestly gone crazy if she hadn’t forced herself to meditate, leading to her eventually falling asleep. 

She was awoken by the door to the room opening enough for her to see one of the more snippy nurses as she slid a tray of what was probably supposed to be food into the room.

“How’m I supposed to eat this?” 2968 asked, raising her eyebrows quizzically at the nurse.

“Somehow we all manage, don't we?” the nurse quipped.

“Ha-ha,” 2968 said as she rolled her eyes. “I mean because of my  _ hands _ , dummy.”

“Dunno,” the nurse said. “Guess you'll have to figure it out, huh?”

With that, the door slammed and locked. 2968 sighed and looked at the grub. She decided she’d done more degrading things before, and sat on her knees, thanking her above-average flexibility as she bent over and tried to eat whatever the crap on the tray was.

It was another completely boring amount of time before some security guards came and finally took her from the confinement room and took her to the familiar room where “medicines” were tested. A.K.A. different types of crazy gas and injected drugs of a wide variety. 

She didn't resist as she was removed from the straight jacket and tied down to the chair that reminded her of one you'd find at a dentist office (of doom and despair).

“I gotta say, I’m getting real tired of being bound and tied up here,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I used to think BDSM could be fun, but this joint has totally ruined the vibe for me.”

“They say they heard you singing in solitary confinement the last two days,” the nurse told her casually. “Said you sounded a little unhinged.”

“Damn, you can hear through those things? That sucks for me, I was verbally announcing all the ways I could kill you wackadoos with my bare hands.”

“You know, I always find it amusing when patients call  _ us _ words for crazy,” the nurse said as he tightened the straps that went over her chest and upper arms. She grunted, but said nothing. “You're all the ones in the cells after all.”

“How refreshing to hear an employee admit they're cells and not  _ luxury dorm rooms _ or whatever they call ‘em in the administrative office.”

The nurse didn't respond, just prepped her arm for injection.

“I know I say this every time, and I hope you creeps know this is, like, one of the only times I am being sincere with you-” Her sentence ended with a pained groan as she slammed her head back on the headrest. “Fuck, I hate needles,” she muttered.

“Sorry, meant to tell you it’d hurt, but you were running your mouth,” the nurse said evenly. “Let me know when you start feel different.”

“How's this one supposed to hurt me?” 2968 asked. So far, they'd tried ten different drugs on her in her three weeks locked up. Thankfully, she had a high tolerance to most toxins and drugs, but there were a couple that made her feel woozy enough to have post-session panic attacks and a few hours of puking on and off. For the others, she learned quick the effectiveness and fun in lying about the effects. 

“Just tell me what you feel, Parker.” 

“So you said I was in that cushioned box for two days?” 2968 asked. “It felt more like a week, but also only like a few hours at the same time.”

“That so,” the nurse said, clearly uninterested.

“Yeah. I took a couple naps, which was nice,” she continued. “Hey, I got a question.”

“Mhmm.”

“I heard the Joker was here. Is that true?”

The nurse hesitated just the slightest as he was writing on a clipboard. “I can't disclose patient information to other patients,” he simply said.

“Is that stiff for ‘yes’?”

“Are you experiencing any effects of the injection yet?”

“Oh, I stopped being able to see, like a minute ago- was that supposed to happen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> it's arkham, yall. i had to show some of the evil that's within those walls
> 
> honestly, i could write an entire novel solely on a character or characters within arkham. like i literally wrote this fic and it's novel length, and it barely touches the opportunities arkham asylum presents.
> 
> oof. maybe one day ~*~*~*~


	5. Four

“Bruce! Are you home yet?”

“On my way, yes. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Uh, well- I know you told me not to get involved with that extracurricular activity anymore-”

“ _ Kat- _ ”

“Listen, it will, um, be easier to explain at home. Nothing’s really…  _ wrong… _ I guess, uh-”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Then it can wait.”

Fifteen minutes later, Katherine dashed into the front doors of Wayne Manor, not bothering to brush the snow off her coat as she slid into the foyer.

“Bruce!” she called out, yanking her outer coat off and dropping it, second jacket, and gloves to the floor. 

“In the study, ma’am,” she heard Alfred call from somewhere nearby.

“Thank you, Alfred!” she called as she ran up the stairs, slipping twice from the snow on her sneakers, but scrambling up nonetheless.

Bruce was standing at his desk, removing his blazer as if he only just got back as well. “Are you ready to explain why you went against my orders and did something about the Knight problem?”

“You know that laundromat on East Baldwin street?” Kat asked through breathless huffs. 

“What?”

“They close at six. Employees are usually gone by six-thirty,” Kat continued, setting her backpack down on the floor and kneeling down as she pulled out her utility belt and put it on. “It's almost ten now, it was after nine-thirty when I called you. Everyone who works at the laundromat should have been home by then, right?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“They should've been home by then, right??” Kat asked again, looking up at Bruce urgently.

He hesitated. “Yes, they should have been home by then. No one else should have been there, unless an employee had a reason to stay longer.”

“What laundromat employee stays three hours after closing?” Kat asked. “Don't answer that. My point is, laundromat has been closed for three hours, and I see two guys dressed in dark colours sneaking out the back with duffle bags that don't look like they're just full of clothes, that doesn't stink much like an employee working overtime right?” Katherine pulled her gauntlets out of her backpack and pulled them on, turning on her mini computer and beginning to tap away on it. “I overheard some people mention the Arkham Knight on my way home, tailed them to listen for more information, and as the guys were splitting up, I see these doofuses who were trying to rob a laundromat-”

“Katherine, the point of this?” Bruce prompted, already beginning to feel exhausted. 

“I'm getting there, I promise!” she said. still tapping away. “I took them down, tied em up, and alerted the police about them before taking the money back to the laundromat. I did a DNA sweep scan of the main area for the laundromat to see if the thugs messed with anything else, and as I was cross referencing the list of DNA match names to find the goons I’d caught, I-” Kat hesitated. staring at the holographic screen displayed from her gauntlet. She looked up at Bruce nervously. 

“What did you find?” he asked, moving over to her and kneeling next to her.

“I- I think you should see yourself,” Kat told him. her voice empty of the energy it had only moments prior.

Bruce was nervous about what she had to show him, but he peered at the screen when she offered her arm to him. His heart skipped a couple beats. Goosebumps raised on his arms. He wasn’t sure if he was breathing anymore or not.

“That's impossible,” he whispered. “There has to be a mistake here.”

“I know, but I don't make mistakes like that,” Kat told him carefully. “I thought, maybe there's a coincidence, so I ran it through our personal DNA cross reference list, and… it matches…” Bruce was at a loss for words, he just glanced at his daughter once before pursing his lips at the screen. “I figure the only reason it showed up in my scan at all is because I ran it through your database, the only system that has this DNA recorded in existence.”

Bruce sat back on his feet and looked elsewhere in the room. He didn't know what to do, what to say. This was simply impossible. He knew it bad to be. And yet… Katherine didn't make mistakes like that, which meant what she was insinuating was correct. And that meant that somehow… Jason Todd was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (imagine there's like fifteen of the thinking emoji's here)
> 
> DUN DUN


	6. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse, suicide mention

She’d lied. Obviously. Which meant 2968 got to spend the rest of the day kicking it in her cell. Well, that was her plan anyway. At some point after she’d been staring at her ceiling listening to one of her neighbours trying to sing the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody and calling out corrections when he got words wrong, her door was opened. She poked her head up and looked at the nurse as she entered the room. 

“This is off schedule,” 2968 said warmly. “What’s the occasion?”

The nurse didn’t respond. She always seemed to have at least two sticks up her butt. 

“Cool, cool,” 2968 said, laying her head back down, only to be physically removed from her cot a moment later by the guard who stood outside her door. She sighed and gave a tired look at the nurse. “Did you know there’s ten different ways I could get away from this goober and get you prone on the ground from where I am right now? And then I could ruff you up after a nice afternoon and see how you like-”

She was interrupted by a harsh slap to the face by the nurse. The damn lady always had that wedding ring with the big rock on it, and boy did it feel like a big rock. 2968 grunted at the force of the slap, and took a couple breaths to compose herself as the guard holding her shoved her along after the nurse and out the door.

“I bet I could sell that tacky rock on your finger and make enough money to buy your husband for the night,” 2968 said, laughing at her own words at the end. “Talk about twisting feminism, right? Never hear girls saying stuff like that about dudes, right? Oh wait, is that chunk of coal fake? If so, I couldn’t even get a box of girl scout cookies with it- oof!! Watch it!” she snapped weakly when the guard paused their walk to deliver a solid punch to her gut.

“You should learn when to shut that psychotic trap of yours, girl,” the nurse said coldly. “Babble enough and you’ll say something else to land you in a much worse place than your current room.”

“Yikes, that’s an unsettling thought,” 2968 said. “What, they gonna send me to be neighbours with the Joker?” No response. “He’s here, ain’t he? I got word down on Silly Street that the famous Joker’s locked up again.”

“That’s none of your business, is it girl?” the nurse said.

“I’m just trying to get to know my peers,” 2968 said simply.

They approached a door and it opened, revealing the room where 2968 had sessions with Harleen Quinzel. She’d been talking so much, she hadn’t realized where they’d been going.

“It’s not Monday, is it? I thought-”

“I arranged for us to have anotha meetin’!” Harleen said, appearing in the doorway with a grin that matched her blonde pigtails. “Come on in!”

2968 wasn’t sure how to feel as she was ushered inside and strapped into the patient chair. She was used to this routine, but then they clipped a metal collar thing around her neck. 

“Whoa, whoa, what’s this?” she demanded, trying to wriggle her arms free and crane her neck to look at it. The guard and nurse simply continued to exit the room. “Hey, shitheads! I don’t do collars! Or chokers, or whatever this is!!”

The door simply slammed and locked behind them in response.

“You should really try chokers sometimes, give ‘em a chance!” Harleen said cheerfully. She touched a hand to a PUDDIN lettered choker on her own neck, partially hidden under her collared shirt. “They’re super stylish!”

“Sure, sure, I totally get ya, Dr. Quinzel, but this one looks like it’s got a blinking light,” 2968 pointed out.

“Don’t ya worry about that,” Harleen said casually, and she came over to the chair. Much to 2968’s surprise, Harleen hit a switch on the back of the chair and the restraints keeping her down unlocked and went limp across her body.

“Uh..,” was all she could say. 

Harleen pushed the bindings off the younger girl and smiled at her. “Lemme be honest with ya, darlin’- I like you, a  _ lot _ . And I think yous and me are real similar. Two regular peas in a pod! And I don’t think you’ll be needin’ these bindings anymore. Somehow, I got a good feeling that ya aren’t gonna waste your time attacking  _ me _ .”

“That’s a pretty bold assumption,” 2968 said. “I’m sure they’ve told you how many of those weenie guards I can take down at once.” She sat up in the chair and rubbed her arm where the bindings always irritated her biceps and quirked a smile at Harleen. “But you’re right. I like you too, Dr. Quinzel. I don’t really want to pick a fight with you.”

Harleen clapped twice and squealed happily. “I knew it! This is just perfect. Two regula friends sittin’ for a chat!” She picked up her clipboard and sat back down in her chair. “Of course, you do got that nice collar, just in case you turn a lil too crazy and we gotta neutralize this good trust we got. But it won’t come to that, right?”

So that’s what the collar was for. Super. If she made a wrong move or angered Harleen, who knows what this thing would do to her. The wrist cuffs had shock functions in them. This collar was probably at least three times as powerful. It’d probably knock her out or kill her. “I’d never even consider it, Dr. Quinzel. You got my girl scout honour promise,” 2968 said, placing one hand over her heart and lifting the other in the three-fingered salute of girl scouts. 

“Perfect!”

“I gotta ask though, why the early appointment? It’s not Monday yet, is it?”

“Saturday, hon,” Harleen told her. “And I just couldn’t stop thinkin’ about that story you were telling me before we were so  _ rudely _ interrupted in our last session.”

It was only Saturday? Damn. It really did feel like a week had gone by. Yikes.

“So, if ya don’t mind, hon, go ahead and finish tellin’ me about you and Batman,” Harleen continued eagerly. “Something about you being his first kill? I think we’re really onto somethin’ here!”

2968 racked her brain to remember the last things she’d told Harleen. “Right, right,” she said, crossing her legs and putting a hand on her chin. “Where did I leave off?”

Harleen consulted her clipboard. “You’d been tossed to the curb by your beloved family, and that’s when you decided to try to end your pathetic life by goin’ out with a bang- gettin’ the Batman to kill you!”

“Right, right. So, there I was, your everyday urchin, right? And I see the Batman doing his rounds. Well he changes it so people can’t track him, you know? So I just tried to show up where there was always a mess for him to clean up,” 2968 explained. “One night, I see him taking on like six dudes at once, so I jumped into the fray and- would you believe it?”

“What?!”

2968 leaned forward, eyes wide. “I lept off the fire escape and  _ right onto Batman’s back! _ ”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Harleen laughed loudly. “You  _ are _ crazy!”

“Not crazy, my friend. Just suicidal!”

Harleen giggled as she wrote more on her clipboard.

“Anyway, so I jumped on him, and he throws me off, as a reflex or something, I guess. I got thrown into the wall so hard, I saw real stars in my eyes,” 2968 said. “He finishes up with the morons and comes over and grabs me right up the front of my shirt.” 2968 grabbed the front of her shirt and mimed the encounter for dramatic effect. “He says to me, ‘What do you think you’re doing, kid?!’ and I told him, ‘I’m gonna make you kill me, Batman!’ He gives me this funny look, and starts to let go of me, but I grab his hand and keep it on my shirt and tell him it’s a good thing his little sidekick ain’t there to see him murder someone. I called that Robin girl-wonder lots a names, really set his teeth on edge.”

“I bet that really got him riled up!” Harleen agreed. “‘Specially with her bein’ dead and all.”

2968 froze. “Dead? Robin’s dead?” That was new to her. 

“You really been under a rock before you came here, weren’t ya, sweetie?” Harleen said. “Robin got shot, lit up like a Christmas tree! Fell off a building, only to swing inside a window somehow and right into an explosion!”

“No wonder that Batman seemed real angry when I called her a third-rate washup mess!” 2968 said, leaning back and crossing her arms and ankles. “Robin, dead! Imagine that!”

“Continue with your story, I think we’re really getting somewhere!” Harleen told her.

“Of course, course,” 2968 said, waving her hand and sitting up again. “So I was insulting the dead bird, and he starts pummelin’ me, if you’d believe it! I egged him on to keep it going, and he did at first! But he musta realized he was beating on a kid, which he ain’t known for doing, so he tells me to get off the streets and clean my act up. Who’s he think he is to tell a nobody kid on the street to clean their act up, right?”

“Oh, of course!”

“So he drops me and starts to leave, and I pick up a gun and click it and tell him if he won’t kill me, I’ll just kill myself,” 2968 explained. “Well, he didn’t like that either. Threw one of those batarangs at me, sliced my wrist and knocked the gun away. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground with this horrifying mass of Bat over me, and he tells me, he says, ‘This’ll teach you to remember who you shouldn’t go picking a fight with.’ And he pops out some doohickey from his belt and that’s when he gives me this-” 2968 had been unbuttoning her top as she spoke, and pulled the right side down, showing Harleen the symbol branded into her chest. Harleen looked completely captivated,  _ ooh _ ing and gasping when she looked at the branding, as if it were the first time she’d seen it. “It hurts like hell, as you can imagine, and he sticks me with some sedative, next thing I know, I’m waking up in red, confined to this joint.”

“Wow,” Harleen said, staring at the girl who had a very smug grin on her face as she crossed her arms and nodded. “That sure is somethin’!” She quickly began taking more notes. “So when you get out of here someday, do you still want to track down the Batman and have him kill you?”

“Kill me? Nah. That plan’s long out the window,” 2968 said, waving her hand. “Now, I’ve got something better in mind.” She leaned forward and grinned at Harleen. “Now,  _ I’m _ going to kill Batman.”

 

\---

 

Bruce Wayne was being shown around Arkham Asylum. The repairs and reparations to the asylum that were funded by his donation had recently been finished, and he was being shown everything his money had touched. 

The trip had been going mostly well. Most patients paid them no attention as they passed through the halls, and everything seemed to be in order. 

And then suddenly, from across the hall, he heard, “Hey, Mr. Wayne! Bruce Wayne!” He turned around in time to see a teenage girl with black hair get a sucker punch to the gut by a guard in front of her. She wore the red jumpsuit of an Arkham patient.

“I’m so sorry about that, Mr. Wayne,” the director said quickly. “Some of our patients are a bit eager when they see guests in the halls.” He snapped at the guard. “Get her off, then!”

“That won’t be necessary,” Bruce said politely, going over to the girl who was standing back up from the punch and giving him a grin. “Actually, I believe I know this young lady.”

“Yes, sir! You work with my dad- or, rather, he works for  _ you _ \- Anthony Parker, your Networking assistant director,” the girl said. “My name’s-

“Charlotte, right?” Bruce said with a kind smile. “Yes, your father does good work for me. I remember him bringing you into the office when you were younger.”

“Yes sir,” Charlotte said. “That’s me!”

“How did you end up here, Charlotte? Doesn’t seem the place for Parker’s daughter,” Bruce said curiously.

“Guess I just got a couple screws too loose, huh?” she said with a laugh. “Hey, will you tell my dad next you see him that I’m havin’ a great time here at this summer camp. Tell him I’m doing okay, making friends, yadda yadda.”

Bruce saw her smiling, but could see pain and fear behind her eyes. He knew when someone was putting up an act, and this kid was putting up one hell of an act. 

Nevertheless, he smiled back at her. “Of course, Charlotte. I’ll let him know for you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Wayne, you’re the best!” she said. The guard behind her bumped her. Clearly it was time to go. “Oh! Oh, and tell him I haven’t found that playing card, yet. I thought it got sent here, but I’m havin’ trouble finding it and-”

“Time to go, kid,” the guard said, shoving her another few feet forward. 

“Whatever,” Charlotte said after a huff. She looked back at Bruce as she was being led away. “Thanks again, Mr. Wayne! Good to see you!” she called back to him. 

“I do apologize if that was an uncomfortable situation for you, Mr. Wayne,” the director said with a sigh. “Some of the patients here are so young, it’s truly very sad. But we do our best to treat their minds to get them healthy again.”

“No need for apology, sir, it’s quite alright. Her father does in fact work for me, so no harm there,” Bruce assured the other man, patting his shoulder. The director continued the tour then, but Bruce had a hard time paying attention after that. His mind kept going back to the missing playing card she spoke of. He had a feeling she might need Batman to help her track it down…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> i LOOoOOoooOOve writing harley, what's up
> 
> it just like?? when I was writing her, she basically wrote herself. she's glorious and i love her hey byeeeee
> 
> also do feel free to break out your cork boards and red string so you can start visualizing theories and ideas on who may be where and why someone is where or when??!!!! who KNOws where this rollercoaster will take us1!!!!11!!
> 
> (also i don't like the PUDDIN choker, but harley loves it so. u kno.)


	7. Six

Robin landed behind Batman on the roof. “Hope you didn’t think that was a complete waste of time,” she said, pulling a USB drive out of her belt. “Cause I swiped this info on the Joker from the dingbat with the flashy shoes.”

Batman smirked at her. “Well done.”

“Let’s say we take this back to the cave and figure out where that slippery fish is hiding. Maybe we can get some information about his connection with the Arkham Knight while we’re at it.”

“Maybe,” Batman agreed. “That’d be nice.”

The duo were making their way across the rooftops when there was the sudden sound of a gunshot followed by a surprised scream from Robin. 

Batman froze and managed to be close enough to catch Robin as she fell into him. “Robin!” She groaned in response, but before he could see where she was hurt, he looked up as a foot flew into his chest. He was kicked back and to the ground, Robin knocked out of his arms and into the gravel nearby. He quickly got to his feet, managing to intercept another attack. He saw his enemy this time- an agent of the Arkham Knight. He needed to get Robin out of there, quickly.

“Little late for an evening stroll, isn’t it Batman?” the attacker said after Batman shoved him away. 

“What do you want?” Batman demanded. 

“Just here to deliver a messa- aah!” Before the agent could finish speaking, Robin kicked him in the back of his knees and grabbed his arm, flipping him over her and onto his back in the gravel.

“Let’s go,” she said to Batman. He looked at her and saw blood on her left arm, just under where the sleeve stopped and exposed her skin.

He didn’t have time to fuss over her now. They needed to leave. So he nodded and pointed for her to go first. She took off, jumping and flipping over to the next roof, Batman right behind her to cover her from the back. 

Just as he began to wonder what was going on, three more of the Knight’s agents vaulted from the shadows and onto the roof as Batman and Robin landed there. If Robin’s injury bothered her, she didn’t show it as she jumped into action, throwing birdarangs and punches. Batman jumped in to join her, but he heard the tell tale sound of more enemies arriving behind him. He turned to see two agents with guns pointed at him. He went to work, dodging their shots and disarming them. He heard three gunshots just as he got the guys unconscious on the ground, and he turned to see Robin stumble away from one goon with a gun. 

“Robin!” he shouted at her. 

“G-Get him,” she snapped at him, but Batman didn’t like the way she was leaning on one leg. He dashed over to the only standing agent left. The agent tried to shoot him, but Batman was faster, and had the gun out of his hands and his knees on the ground in seconds. He turned to Robin, stepping over to her as another gunshot rang out. He saw in slow motion as the bullet went into her gut. He saw her stagger back, holding the new wound with a weak grunt. He didn’t even have time to curse at himself or feel anything but panic as he watched Robin trip and fall off the edge of the roof. 

He made a mad dash towards her, but felt a strike of hot pain in his shoulder preceded by a gunshot. He turned, slapping a hand to the new gunshot wound on his shoulder, and saw in the distance, the Arkham Knight lowering his smoking gun and raising what Batman realized too late to be a detonator. He dashed off the roof and jumped over, following Robin, seeing a broken open window in the building across the alley. He shot his grappling hook over and flew inside just as an explosion consumed the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> hey gang!! hope everyone's weekend went well!! i got to see some friends i haven't seen in a few months since i've been away at school, so that was pretty fun! and i got some new kicks to hopefully help my shin splints issue- got some addidas cloud foam running shoes??? idk they were on sale, they look nice, and feel nice so fingers crossed!
> 
> a short chapter for this run, but I'll be posting the next chapter in a few minutes to keep the story flowing! 
> 
> perhaps this chapter is the "death of robin" harleen mentioned earlier? hmmm.........! (image theres a thinking emoji here ty)


	8. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW:
> 
> torture mention

It was 2968’s favourite day: Sunday. On Sundays, the inmates were allowed to congregate together in the well-monitored gymnasium. Some various basketballs and kickballs were here and there for people to try and play basketball with, and there was an actual good amount of people trying.

2968 didn’t even bother trying to mingle with the mentally deranged on the court, however she enjoyed sitting up at the top of the bleachers and watching everything going on. She also knew how to spot a group of interesting people from a mile away. And there were plenty of interesting people around. 

There were plenty people locked up here who weren’t crazy and were here for one agenda or another. Those who were honest-to-goodness nuts were mostly amusing to watch interact with each other. They got a little scary sometimes, especially since the guards didn’t intervene as much as they should, but 2968 was fine enough high up where she could watch everyone. 

“Hey pipsqueak.” 2968 glanced over to her right and saw a rather burly looking inmate approaching her.

“Who ya callin pipsqueak, smalls?” she said evenly, leaning back into the bleacher behind her.

“Hear you’ve been askin’ about the Joker lately,” he said, standing in front of her on the bleacher below the one she sat on. 

“Maybe,” 2968 said. “What of it?”

“Why you askin’ about a sociopath?” he asked. She looked at his jumpsuit on the breast where his patient number was. He was patient no. 7284. “You even crazier than they think you are?”

“Listen, 72, I prefer to keep the discussion of my mental state to a minimum,” she said tiredly. “If you got anything interesting to tell me, I’d be glad to-”

“The Joker ain’t here, kid,” 7284 said. “And you shouldn’t be lookin’ for him neither.”

“Why not?”

“Why you want to find him, you got a deathwish?”

“Actually that’s what I’m in here for,” 2968 said. “But no. I’m tryin’ to kill Batman-”

“Wow you are fuckin’ nuts, ain’t ya-”

“You got any room to talk?”

“Yeah, I do,” 7284 snapped. “I’m here for psychosis help with my drug problem-”

“You mean psychological help?”

“Whatever! I’m not here tryin’ to kill Gotham’s Dark Knight for some stupid reason,” he said, his tone harsh. “Besides, you don’t want the Joker’s help with nothin’ anyway.”

“Maybe I don’t want to Joker’s help,” 2968 said, meeting 7284’s eyes. “Maybe I need a useful pawn to get what I want.”

7284 snorted. “You think you could control the Joker?”

“I think I know how to get what I want,” 2968 said, raising her eyebrows.

“Sure, sure.” 7284 scoffed and shook his head. “You’re just some cocky kid with a few screws loose. Don’t let yourself get into that nasty irreversible trouble with socios like the Joker-”

“Man, why do you care what kind of trouble I get into?” 2968 said, sitting up and looking up at him. “What are you getting out of this?”

7284 actually sat down on the bleacher she rested her feet on so they were mostly eye level. “I got a kid out there ‘bout the same age as you, pipsqueak. And I’d hate to see him gettin’ his ass into the kinda shit you sound like you’re gettin’ your nose into,” he said evenly. “You got anyone outside these walls waiting for you to get fixed and come home?”

2968 took a moment to respond, completely thrown off by his sincerity. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I got a dad. Couple friends.”

7284 pointed at her, his face hard. “Then don’t fuck yourself over to the point where you can never see them again,” he told her. “If you won’t keep your sanity for yourself, do it for them. And if you keep askin’ shit about the Joker and killin’ Batman, I’ll come kick your ass myself, alright?”

2968 felt the worst sense of deja vu as 7284 looked at her, and she found herself nodding once, sinking back into the bleacher behind her with his firm stare. His gaze softened and he stood up, waving a hand at her. 

“I see through that tough kid shit walls you throw up around here, 29. Do it to survive, but don’t let it change your heart, alright?” 7284 told her before turning and walking away back down the bleachers.

2968 crossed her arms tight over her chest and sighed. She didn’t want anything heavy to think about on this nice Sunday, yet there she sat, her mind clouded with a thousand things she didn’t want to think about.

Later around the end of the freeplay time in the gym, a fight broke out between a bunch of nutjobs. 2968 generally stayed back to watch with most of the other inmates and guards, but she needed an outlet for her energy and emotions today. The fight lasted about two minutes after she entered the fray and ended with her cuffs shocking her into submission after standing back once the guards came in. She was one hundred percent sure they shocked her till she got on her knees for their own enjoyment since every time they came to break up the fight she stood away from them, non threateningly. She and the other instigators were taken away for punishment, but on the way out, she caught a glimpse of 7284 shaking his head in the crowd.

 

\---

 

2968 was looking forward to her session with Harleen on Monday. The entire day leading up to the session had been harder than usual. She’d spent almost an hour and a half straight doing “physical training” (fighting other inmates) followed by a session where some church doofus would have her recite Bible passages and stories. For each time she got something wrong (intentionally or not), she got a slap, cut with a knife, or a zap with a small taser stick. She’d had to actually been taken to the infirmary after that one where she passed out for a couple hours. After she woke up and was given a pathetic lunch in her room, she had arts and crafts where one lunatic used the kindergarten safety scissors to cut a chunk of her hair off from behind. She’d ended up stabbing him in the leg with the scissors and punching him out with one hit. That got her another round in the hosing chamber where she was pretty sure the bruises from the last session of being blasted with forceful freezing water were only just starting to show. This time, though, they blasted her back and the backs of her legs. She could hardly walk at first as they put her into a dry jumpsuit and shoved her to the garden for some “fresh air”. At the request of them giving her some scissors to at least even out her hair since “that freak cut a chunk off”, one of the more laid back nurses took her aside into a room and evened it out for her. She was surprised that he actually did a good job, but was sad anyway that her hair was now only a couple inches below her shoulders.

When they told her her session with Harleen was cancelled, the only reason she could explain her disappointment was because she’d been looking forward to one hour where she would get to chat with someone and play as many word games as it took to cheer herself up. She was counting on that being the highlight of her shitty day, and now it was gone. Thankfully, they let her spend the rest of the evening moping in her room where she tried doing yoga and as heavy cardio exercises as she could manage to get her mind off everything. It only took a couple hours for that to get boring, though, and soon enough she found herself simply sitting against one of the walls with her head on her knees, trying to decide if she wanted to try her hand at sleep or not. 

Her body must have decided for her, because she soon dozed off, idly hoping for the mercy of a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> as promised, here's the next bit! this is a very important part of the story for a few reasons, and it's one of my favourite parts of the entire fic !!!
> 
> when i wrote the part with 2968 and 7284, it literally just came to me and happened (honestly how 98% of this story was made hAHA) and when I finished it, i just realized how in love i was with this sincere moment between these two inmates at arkham. i guess i'm just like super super interested in interactions between inmates at arkham because of the variety of people who are locked up there lmao.
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy! more to come tomorrow or in a couple of days!!!


	9. Eight

“I see you’ve managed to drag yourself out of the bed, Miss Katherine,” Alfred said as he poured a cup of hot chocolate for her.

“I couldn’t sit in that bed another minute longer,” Kat said. “My body still feels a little like all my bones are shattering every time I move, but I spent two days unconscious and the last three days in and out of consciousness in that dang bed.” She crossed her arms gently. “I wanted to stretch my legs, even if my legs didn’t want to be stretched.”

Alfred smiled and brought her the mug. “You sound just like Master Dick and Master Jason after a serious injury.”

“That’s another thing-” Kat said miserably. “I kept having weird deja vu dreams from that explosion and seeing Jason in my dreams. I never met the kid, I’ve only seen pictures of him. But it feels like he’s haunting me somehow.” She took the mug from Alfred and took a small sip. “I have another feeling that Bruce is never gonna let me put that cape on again.”

Alfred placed a hand on her shoulder gently. “He may surprise you,” he said. “Although, he  _ is _ notorious for benching Robin after a catastrophe. And after the way the Arkham Knight seems to have targeted you specifically, perhaps it might be for the best to lay low for a while.”

Katherine sighed and leaned against Alfred and brought the mug to her lips as he wrapped an arm around her.

Later, Bruce came in and sat on her bed with her. His entire aura screamed “serious conversation”, but his face hd a different expression.

“Am I done being Robin?” she asked quietly. Better to get the hard question done first.

“I… don’t know,” Bruce admitted. “I want to say  _ yes _ . You almost died, literally. Alfred said you actually might have  _ been _ dead for a few minutes before he started patching you up.” Kat dipped her head and hugged the pillow in her lap. “You’re not putting that  _ R _ back on your chest until the Arkham Knight is dealt with, that’s for sure. He has some sick interest in you, and if he thinks you’re dead, that’s an advantage for us.”

“That’s fair,” Kat said with a sigh. “But after…?”

“We’ll see,” Bruce said simply.

Kat smiled at him. “That’s enough for me for now.”

He laughed gently and smoothed down her hair. “How do you feel?”

“Better than someone who was shot three times, caught in an explosion, and dead for a couple minutes should probably feel,” she said. 

“Well, if you’re feeling up for it, I had tickets for us to go see the new show they’re putting on at the theater on Friday,” he told her with a smile. “It was going to be a surprise, but I figure it’s just as well to tell you now.”

“Oh, heck yeah,” Kat said excitedly. “I’m always down for some good ole theater.” 

“Perfect,” Bruce said. “Then after you wash up and have some lunch, hobble down to the cave if you can, I was looking into that information you found at the laundromat and might have some interesting developments.”

 

\---

 

2968 was woken up by her door opening. It was opened so quietly, it shouldn’t have woken her up, but she’d learned to become a lighter sleeper at Arkham very quickly. 

The door clicked open, and she lifted her head up from between her legs. She was brushing her dark bangs from her face as she realized a nurse was in front of her and yanking her arm out in front of her.

“H-Hey, what gives?!” she snapped, yelping at the sharp prick in her forearm. She didn’t have time to make out the nurse’s face before everything got fuzzy and she realized she’d been injected with a sedative. Her last thought was that it was stupid to not punch first and ask what was going on later before everything went black and she found herself slumped over the nurse’s shoulder. 

 

\---

 

She came to a few times briefly. Once in some sort of small room that sounded like the back of a truck or van. There were a bunch of other red jumpsuit-fitted bodies around her, but she didn’t have time to think about it before passing out again. Another time, she saw two people in dark clothes moving red bodies from the back of the van and into some sort of big bin. She blinked and suddenly felt a pair of hands dragging her out of the bin. She couldn’t really wrap her head around what was going on, but her instincts took over, sending her bound wrists into the head of her captor. He yelled in surprise and dropped her, getting a pained groan from her as she landed on the hard floor of the back of the van. 

“Oi! What’s goin’ on?” a voice shouted. 

“One punched me!” the guy who dropped her complained.

“Sedate them, then, dingus!”

The person who dropped her leaned down to grab her, but she was already fumbling her way out of the van, dropping out and falling to her knees clumsily on the gravel. 

“Ugh,” she groaned, forcing herself back to her feet. She looked around, but there was a lag between her eyes moving and what they actually saw. She felt a hand on her shoulder- probably the guy who dropped her- and she grabbed it, using his height above her and weight to flip him out of the van and over her shoulder, landing him on the ground in front of her. She scrambled in front of him and put her bound hands around his thin neck. “Tell- Tell ‘m wha’s- go’n on?” she stammered out. 

The guy made a few choked noises. “Get ‘er off me!!” he shouted. 

“Tha’s not- not-” 2968 started to say, but she felt another stab into her arm, and she had enough energy left to spit out a few swear words before passing out again.

When she finally came to, it was because a loud horn went off somewhere nearby and woke her up. 

She blinked her eyes open, squinting in the dim light. It looked like She was in some sort of warehouse. She saw one person standing off nearby in front of her with something shiny on them. She also saw a few of her fellow inmates from Arkham waking up, tied to chairs off to her side. Her eyes widened, her mind getting alert quickly as she looked down and realized she was also bound to a chair. She felt the bindings around her wrists. Thin rope, tied in several complex knots. She could get out of them in about a minute, but she didn’t know if it would be smart to try to free herself just yet.

“Rise and shine, freaks!” the shiny guy yelled. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” someone off to her left shouted. 2968 looked over and saw three people to her left. There were ten of them total from Arkham. It had seemed like more than that in that van earlier.

“Are we still at Arkham? This some sick joke?” a woman to her right yelled.

“You are not in Arkham Asylum anymore,” the shiny person announced. “You have been selected to do something more useful than rotting away in an asylum for the rest of your life.”

2968 blinked a few times as the person paced over towards her, and her blood went cold as she realized he wasn’t just wearing something shiny… he was wearing silver armour. Similar to… oh  _ no _ .

“What’s that supposed to mean?” another inmate snapped. 

“It means,” the man said, walking in front of 2968 and looking at her. “That you have been selected to get an opportunity to work for the Arkham Knight.”

Well, shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> happy thursday gang!! 
> 
> so this chapter is when the story really pops off, i hope you have been buckled in already, but if not, it's boutta get REAL buck wild. 
> 
> another chapter will be posted shortly! let me know what you think !!!


	10. Nine

“Jason Todd should be dead. The Joker kidnapped him, beat him, and sent me a video of him killing Jason. I know you saw it too, despite my efforts to keep it away from you.”

Bruce gave her a tired look she pretended not to notice and pointed at a different screen. “However, the DNA match you got from your scan at the laundromat proves otherwise-”

“It also says dead guys apparently don’t have their own washers,” Katherine said. Another look from Bruce. “Sorry, sorry. Please continue.”

“As I was saying, we now have reason to believe that somehow… Jason is alive.” Just saying the words made Bruce feel hopeful, heavy, and devastated all at the same time. “How that's possible, we still don't know.”

“Maybe the Joker faked his death?” Kat offered. “I mean… it looked like he killed him in the video, but maybe that wasn’t really Jason there-”

“No, it was Jason,” Bruce insisted. He knew his son.

“Okay,” Kat said more carefully. “Maybe he shot him with some kind of tranquilizer? We couldn't see where the bullet went in the video, it was too dramatically lit of a room.”

Bruce didn't even like considering that Jason hadn't been killed in that video after all, because that meant that for the last three years, his son was  _ alive _ in god knows what kind of circumstances… And Bruce hadn't been looking for him. Bruce had… given up. 

“Bruce..?” Kat said carefully, stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm. 

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at the monitors. “I suppose it's possible… that Joker only shot him with a tranquilizer. Every time I interrogated Joker afterwards and beat him for information about what he did with Jason, he always said the same thing, that Jason was dead and gone.”

“What if we consider that Jason is alive and Joker didn't really kill him,” Kat said, starting to pace. “That means that for two years, plus the two months Joker had him before “killing” him, Jason has been in captivity by the Joker, with who knows what being done to him this whole time.” She took a deep breath. “We already know what that filth did to Harley Quinn after just a few months with her. Jason was stronger than Harleen Quinzel was, but from what I have read and heard about him, he might have also had a lot of rage and angst inside him that the Joker could exploit.”

Bruce knew Kat was just thinking out loud, trying to rationalize and brainstorm hypotheses, but the more she spoke the worse and worse he felt. He had never considered these options before. Probably because being trapped and brainwashed by the Joker was worse than death.

“There is also the possibility that Jason escaped the Joker and ran away to start a new life,” Katherine said, pacing past Bruce for the sixth time. “Honestly, we've thought him dead for so long that both theories are equally as possible and equally as crazy.”

“If Jason had managed to escape, he would have come home,” Bruce said firmly.

“Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he didn't know how. Maybe he lost his memory and didn't even know who you were. Maybe he didn't-” Katherine slowed and stopped. She turned and looked at Bruce. “Maybe he didn't want to. Maybe he saw me and felt betrayed and got jealous or angry and didn't want to come back and- and maybe he's-”

“I think it's enough of the “maybe” talk,” Bruce said, standing up and walking over to Kat. She was twirling her long hair the way she did when she was anxious. He put his hands on her arms. “We have no way to know anything for now. I think what we should do now is start doing scans on patrol to see if we pick up any more traces of him across the city.”

“Yeah,” Kat said, trying to calm herself down. “Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start.”

 

\---

 

“How were we chosen to be given this  _ great _ opportunity to serve your freak in the mech suit?” one inmate said to the Arkham Knight’s agent. 

“Various psych evals, various tests, careful speculation,” the agent explained. “We have people in Arkham watching for “talent”, and you lot were the best they had.”

“Is the Arkham Knight so desperate for new blood he goes to the most fucked up place on the planet for recruits?” an inmate asked.

“The Knight had other arrangements. You lot were a side bonus of those arrangements,” the agent said carefully, going over to the inmate. “And you will want to watch your mouth around here. We've got guns trained on you at all times.”

2968 rolled her eyes at the inmate. She thought his name was Jimmy or something. Idiot.

“We’re not going to force you to work for the Knight. That's not how things work around here. You work cause you want to serve the Knight, and if you don't want to, you're free to go.” The agent stood in front of them all with a smirk on his face.

There was a moment of silence. “Free to go? What’s the catch?” 

“No catch. You'll have to stay free from Arkham yourselves, but we won't keep you here.” The agent snapped and ten other agents came up behind the chairs, and 2968 felt one of them cut her bonds around her wrists and then from her ankles.

As soon as they were free, five inmates got up and made their way to the exit behind them, some ran as if their life depended on it. 

The agent chuckled. “Not unexpected,” he said, clearly amused. “Anyone else then?”

2968 sat up straighter and looked around. Two more people hesitantly got up and moved towards the exits. 

She considered leaving. She could go home. She could sleep in her bed, eat real food, see her family…

But she had priorities. She had a man to find. A man to kill.

“Just three, then?” the agent said. Another moment passed. No one moved. “Excellent.” A garage door opened and a new truck pulled in. 2968 saw outside briefly as the garage door closed behind the truck. It looked to be nighttime outside.

“Hope you’re all ready to get started then,” the agent said. The doors to the truck opened, and 2968 stared, her body slowly filling with anxiety as the passengers of the car approached the chairs and the agent.

“These the new recruits? To be honest, I’m glad most ditched. This just got a lot easier to handle.” The Arkham Knight stood in front of the three former inmates. “Hope you three are ready for some real work. Phase two begins now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> and the boy makes his appearance !!!! what will happen now that two protagonists have finally come together ?!!!?!?!?!?!? who knows !!!
> 
> also in this chapter are some dad emotions from bruce; a bit of insight into his emotions surrounding jason and his "death". personally, i always have been annoyed at the thought of (in the Arkham Knight verse) bruce seeing the video of the joker "killing" jason and then not still trying to find the joker and/or jason's body like. of course i get it to an extent- he just wanted to put his son to rest, but like. idk yall i just want justice for the robins !!! justice for my good boys. let bruce love them and feel things, let them all be vulnerable and love each other (i'm so passionate about the batfam what's up)
> 
> another chapter will be posted soon today!!


	11. Ten

Katherine was surprised that Bruce let her go out again. It’d been a week since the incident and her injuries, and the media was having a blast (pun intended) with the talk of Batman and Robin’s daring event with an exploding building. She’d seen a few “dead Robin” theories, but most were outweighed with the logic that if Batman survived, so did Robin. Robin hadn’t been that active lately anyway.

She sat in a tree outside Arkham Asylum, silently hacking into the asylum’s database. She was searching for more DNA matches for Jason Todd. She and Bruce determined that if Joker was at Arkham, Batman would pay him a visit and reinterrogate him about Jason. 

Her readings of the asylum didn't match any DNA traces with Jason Todd, which meant this outing was a bust. A necessary trip, though. She climbed down and disappeared from the grounds, shuddering as she left the haunting place behind her.

Back at the cave, Bruce found her at the computer once he returned from his trip to Arkham as Batman.

“They say he's there, but wouldn't let me speak to him,” Bruce said with a sigh as he removed his cowl.

“Sounds fishy,” Katherine said,  glancing back at him.

“Yes it does.” Bruce walked over and rested his hand on the chair, looking at the screens over her. “Find anything?”

“Nada. No DNA matches for anyone who wasn’t supposed to be there,” she said with a sigh. Maybe if I’d been on the grounds, I coulda peeked around and made sure they didn’t have any spooky secret entrances or anything, but there were guards everywhere, and I didn’t want to risk it.”

“That’s my girl,” Bruce said, ruffling her hair. “Any information is still information. We know now that he’s not at Arkham. We have a list of other places in the city we can look. And I’ll see what I can do about getting into Arkham to see the Joker.”

“I’ll keep going around the city and looking for leads. Tomorrow I’m gonna go back to that laundromat and start from there.”

“You sure you’re up for more?” he asked. “You’re still recovering-”

“Bruuuuuuuuuuuuccccceeeeee,” Kat whined, spinning around in the chair to face him. “I  _ only _ got shot a couple times and felt a little bit of that explosion, and my armour didn’t even get pierced by the bullets, so, I’m definitely  _ fine _ .”

“Oh, well if that’s all that happened, as long as you’re  _ definitely fine _ ,” Bruce mocked, rolling his eyes with a small smile and going to remove the rest of his armour. “Then fine, go ahead and investigate tomorrow. But keep up with that ‘no risk’ attitude for now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kat said, turning back to the computer. “Maybe one day you’ll follow your own instructions!”

 

\---

 

“What’s your name?”

“Which one?”

“What name do you go by?”

“Lately I’ve been called Patient No. 2968.”

“Well you’re not in that shithole anymore,” the Arkham Knight said, crossing his arms. “What’s your real name?”

“Charlotte Parker.”

“I hear you know how to fight pretty well, Charlotte.”

“They tell you that in your “reports” or whatever?”

“Is it true?”

“I guess,” Charlotte said. “Though I don’t know how many of those people at Arkham you could say really put up much of a fight at all.”

“Fair enough.” The Arkham Knight walked backwards a few paces from her. “Show me what you got.”

“What, you just want me to come attack you?”

“Pretty sure that’s universally what “show me what you got” means,” the Knight quipped back.

“Uh,” Charlotte said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I mostly do defensive-to-offensi-” 

She didn’t finish her sentence because the Arkham Knight pulled out a gun and fired it at her. She ducked down, dodging his line of fire, and was in front of him seconds later, disarming him. His gun fell to the ground, but his other hand was swinging up and aiming at her head. Just as it fired, she moved again, using her movement to pull the Knight forward a step. He stepped forward and she jumped on his bent knee, grabbing his gun from his hand and hitting him right in the helmet with it. He grunted and grabbed her ankle as she tried to jump onto his shoulder, and he tossed her to the ground. She landed on her hands and fell into a somersault, rolling to her feet and turning back to the Knight just as he dashed towards her. Charlotte stood up straight and waited until the Knight stepped within two feet of her to drop down and kick her legs out, effectively and simply tripping the Knight. He clearly didn’t expect her to do it, because he actually did stumble over her. She hopped back up and turned, kicking the Knight in the back of the knees and picking his gun up off the ground so she could throw it at his head when he spun around to face her. That caught him off guard too, because he reacted a fraction of a second too slowly as she jumped and kicked him in the chest before throwing herself at him and knocking him to the ground. She sat on his chest with her knees on his biceps, picked up his gun again, and held it under his chin, staring right down into the eyes of his helmet. She heard a grin in his voice when he spoke again.

“Now that’s more like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> and ta-daaaa!!! we now know some information about patient/prison inmate number 2968!! i hope everyone is like some level of interested in her and this story lmao i'm just very excited about everything. 
> 
> in unrelated news, i live in florida and discovered today that if i drive without my air conditioner on, my car stops making scary noises so i am VERY SWEATY and sad (but mostly sweaty). so i'm trying to figure all this out with my car as well as getting some new comics out and drawn to keep my skills hot and flexible. hectic days, but doing okay.
> 
> anyway, this is probably the last update today, so i hope everyone is doing well and having a nice week!! i'll hit yall up this weekend or maybe tomorrow with some more updates!!! we still got a long road ahead of us!


	12. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse, torture, a character is branded like with a hot iron (no explicit details)

Kat was wrapping up her scans. She’d found a brief trail of DNA matches for Jason Todd before they went to a parking lot and disappeared. She’d tried several other neighbourhoods before her recovering injuries got the best of her, bringing fatigue much sooner than she liked. She finished logging her scans just as a light drizzle started to come down. She pulled up the hood of her rain jacket and was thankful that her mask had a water-resistant layer on it so she didn’t have to take it off to see. 

She was only a few blocks away from where she parked her bike when someone jumped out from behind a dumpster she was passing and hit her with a bat square in the gut. She yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards. Normally, she could’ve caught herself on the way down, but the wound from that gunshot to the gut was still sore enough to make her fall to her knees. Katherine looked up and rolled out of the way as the lunatic swung at her again, and when they tried a third time, she caught the bat in her hands and yanked it away, hitting them in the head with it and sending them falling backwards and into a small puddle.

“Who do you think you are?” she demanded, holding the bat ready to whack him again. 

“A messenger,” he said, and when he looked up, Katherine felt her stomach drop when she realized he was wearing a clown mask. Before she could hit him in the head, five more clown-masked people appeared, and the next thing she knew, she was being pinned against the brick wall of the alleyway, yelling and struggling against their many hands. If anyone gave the riddle, How many thugs does it take to hold down an injured Robin? the answer would be approximately four-to-five thugs. She wished she didn’t know that statistic.

“What do you freaks want?!” she demanded, trying to kick away the goons who were holding her legs down by holding her knees locked in their arms. Maybe if she was at full strength and one-hundred-percent, she could’ve knocked them away somehow. If she’d been faster, maybe she could have gotten something from her utility belt before they grabbed her. She growled and fought to yank her arms free, but the thugs had her wrists and elbows held tight.

“Told ya, little bird,” the first clown-masked thug who attacked her said. “The boss heard yous been sniffin’ places you shouldn’t be sniffin’. He sent us to give ya a message, special.”

“The Joker is in Arkham, there’s no way for him to tell you anything,” she said. 

“He got his ways,” Clown Face said smugly. “He heard yous been lookin’ for your dead bird friend. But he’s been the Joker’s bird for years, ain’t nothin’ you or ya little Batman can do! And if yous so content to be followin’ in his footsteps, well…” Clown Face reached into the backpack that sat nearby and pulled out a box of matches. He lit two at once and tossed them into a nearby hobo fire trash bin. It lit up quickly, despite the drizzle, and Katherine watched, trying to hide her rapidly increasing anxiety, as Clown Face pulled something else out of the bag and went back over to the fire, keeping his back to her. “The boss wants yous to know what ya little Batman’s really doin’ for ya.”

“And what’s that?” Kat growled. She was completely over this. She desperately wished she had a way to contact Bruce. He’d never let her leave the manor alone again, but after the week she was having, she figured making Ava come over so she could stay indoors wasn’t such a rough idea.

Clown Face chuckled. He turned and the fire cast a wicked light show on his mask. “All he’s doin’ is sendin’ ya right into the Joker’s arms,” he said with his increasingly unsettling and gross weasel voice. He pulled one hand away from the fire, and Kat actually froze. “The boss says for me to tell ya, this is so you don’t forget what happens when yous works with the Batman.” He raised a sleek metal pole with the symbol of Batman stuck on the end of the branding iron- and it was fire hot, coming closer and closer to her.

“St-Stay the fuck away from me with that!” Kat shouted, starting to fight again. All the clowns who held her laughed and held on tighter. She yelled and wrestled against them as best as she could, but she knew it wasn’t enough.

“Pull down that shirt, I think right ov’a the heart’s real sentimental,” Clown Face instructed. “Shows what a symbol o’ love this is.” He cackled as Kat snarled swears and threats as one goon used a hand to hold her head and neck against the wall and the other pulled out a pocket knife, cutting down the center of her shirt and pulling the material away, leaving her bare skin and bra straps showing. “Perfect!” Clown Face said. 

“Get away from me!!” Kat screamed again, but she knew there was no more intimidation in her voice, only desperation.

“Sorry, Robin, got my orders!” he said happily. Katherine tried to hold down the shouts that tore up her throat when the metal branded the Bat symbol onto her chest, just under her right collarbone, but she couldn't hold back the screams and cries as the metal seared into her skin. She could feel her flesh burning and melting, and it felt like fire was piercing her skin completely. He left it on longer than necessary, eventually pulling it away, and he tossed it back into the fire with a laugh. He grabbed Kat’s face with one hand and stared at her with his mask. “That’s a lot of tears and screams for such a tough bird,” he said quietly. “Now yous can remember whose fault it is when ya get hurt every time ya look at your pretty little self in the mirror. The Joker’s glad to have another bird in his cage, and now yous got a permanent reminder that he’s always got his hands ready to snatch ya right up.”

“I’ll kill you,” Kat snarled, her voice broken but filled with rage. Her voice shook, but she stared right into the eyeholes of the clown mask. “You and the Joker are toast, you hear me?”

Clown Face cackled and gripped her face tighter in his disgusting fingers. “Yous soundin’ like one a the Joker’s own already, don’t ya? Batman don’t make death threats, do he? See, this-” He poked the fresh branded burn on her chest and she let out a sob of pain. “This already got you actin’ like Joker’s other birdie, don’t it?” He laughed again and slammed her head against the wall.  
Everything went black, but it only felt like a second.

When she came to, she expected to still be pinned against the wall by the Joker’s goons, but she was laying on her back in the alley while the rain poured down and soaked her. She groaned as she sat up, and her chest ached and burned, the pain from the branding still fresh and warm to the touch. The pressure of the rain falling on it didn’t help one bit. 

She was glad she was alone when she broke down and cried for a minute or two. They were angry tears, pained tears, tears full of mixed emotions. But as she cried, horrible ideas slowly started to enter her brain. She pulled herself up with shaky limbs, zipped her rain jacket up all the way to protect her chest, and pulled her hood up as she ran for her bike. Bruce wouldn’t like her plan, but she knew what needed to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> hello gang! hope your saturday's going well. it's raining here (which is nice) and watching documentary shows about cults (which is uh freaky but interesting!) with my fam. also ate some cereal which was nice B)
> 
> anyway this is a big chapter!!! i hope it's good, despite how bonkers and twisted the scene actually is. but again- batman universe, joker involvement- who would expect any less? has anyone already seen these pieces fall together before now?? hmmm....!!!!!!!!


	13. Twelve

The base for the Arkham Knight’s forces was… Impressive. 

It was a massive underground bunker with an active Pottery Barn import-export warehouse above it. Apparently, the bunker was a hideout for some big gang before the Arkham Knight took them all out and claimed it for his own. Most of the agents lived in their own homes, but there was a team of forty-to-fifty agents who lived on base and worked for the Knight’s cause full-time. Most of the agents who walked around wore the silver armour of the agents of the Knight, but there was a fair amount in civilian or casual clothing.

The Knight had the agent (whose name turned out to be Bailey) who originally addressed them after they woke up and decided not to ditch earlier give the three new recruits a tour of the base. The Knight, on the other hand, had work to do.

“Everyone has a job here,” Bailey said as they walked through an atrium. “Most agents do field work, but we have teams of technicians, explosive experts, a couple accountants, et cetera. Total, our organization has about two hundred agents.”

“Not as many as I thought,” one of the former inmates named Al Wick said. 

“Trust me, we’re plenty,” Bailey said with a smirk. They passed by the dormitory wing where Bailey said they’d be set up with private accommodations if they chose to live on base. 

“So we don’t have to stay here all the time?” the third former inmate named Dora Thorne asked.

“No, you’re not required to live here,” Bailey said, slowing to a stop and turning to face the three of them. “But I’ll make sure this is made clear: you’ve made the decision to be in on this cause now. You ever betray us, you die. Plain and simple.”

“Got it,” Thorne said in a small voice. 

“What were you locked up for, Thorne?” Bailey asked her. 

“Arsen and shooting my ex-boyfriend ten times. Didn’t put up with his abuse anymore, the court didn’t believe he was abusive, I was given a chance to plead insanity and avoid death-by-prison, so I did,” Thorne explained, crossing her arms.

“Got a sense of justice, then,” Bailey said. “Good. Just don’t shoot anyone around here without permission.”

The rest of the tour covered the weight room, armoury, and a room used for shooting practice and hand-to-hand combat. At the end, Bailey led them back around to the dormitories where another agent was waiting with three folders in her hands. Bailey stood next to her and addressed the trio. “This is Lieutenant Larson. She’s in charge of the dormitories and will drive your welcome wagon for the rest of the day. She’s got schedules and information for the three of you for the next two weeks here,” he said, gesturing to her. “I’ll leave you with her now, and I’ll see the three of you for training tomorrow morning.” He nodded at them before turning and leaving.

“As Agent Bailey said, my name is Lieutenant Larson. I oversee the dormitories and do a lot of HR type work between the people here,” Lt. Larson said. Her tone was even, but her smile was warm. “Let’s start off simple. Will any of you be living here on base?”

“No way, I got a lady waiting for me,” Al said. “We got a place not too far from here.”

“And you two?” Lt. Larson said, looking at the ladies. 

“I think I’m gonna try goin’ back to the surface for a while,” Thorne said.

“Alright. And you, Parker?”

She couldn’t go back home. Not yet. “I’m in.”

“Excellent,” Lt. Larson said with another smile. She handed each of them a folder that had their names stamped on the front. “Wick, Thorne, you can head down that hall. There’s a desk where Agent Howard can show you to the exit and explain how to return for training. Parker, you can come with me, and I’ll show you your new room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> howdy everyone! got a couple late night updates for ya here! hope everyone's weekend was well! i have been on a rollercoaster for the last several days, and i can finally sort of relax now. and because it is the beginning of a new month, i'm going to force myself to dedicate time every day to being creative and drawing something other than a sketch. i really need to work on my finished output so i can become better and faster!!! (however..... that's much easier said than done when i do things like play assassins creed origins for three hours and decided to skip back and reread parts of the MLB "guardians" fic by wintermoth lmao but. u kno. i try.)
> 
> anyway these next couple of chapters are gonna be juicy follow-ups for the BIG OLE chapter that happened before this one. who knows what will happen ?!?!??!?!!!!?!?!?!?!?!1


	14. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention, torture mention

Bruce was in the den listening to the news as he filled out Wayne Enterprise R&D reports. He heard the door open, but didn’t look up at first, assuming it was Alfred.

“Alfred, have you heard from Katherine?” he asked idly. “I’ve been debating whether or not to send Batman to track her down.”

“It’s me,” he heard Kat’s voice say. His head snapped up from his work and he turned his head to greet her, but when he saw her, he knew something was horribly wrong. 

She stood in the den, entirely soaked from the rain. Her hood was down, but her jacket was zipped up. Her hair was a mess spilling out of her hood, but her expression is what troubled him the most. She looked angry, terrified, guilty, and… determined? He had no idea how to interpret any of it, but she looked on the verge of tears. 

He was up in an instant, forms and paperwork forgotten immediately, and put his hands on her face once he was in front of her. “Are you hurt again? What happened? Where have you been?” he demanded all at once as he checked over her face for any bruises or injuries. He saw a bruise on her neck, but nothing else. “You need to get into some dry clothes,” he told her, reaching for the zipper of her jacket before opening his mouth to call on Alfred for assistance. 

“Stop, stop, wait,” she told him, pushing his hands away from her jacket quickly. Her voice shook a little. “I have a lot to tell you, but you’re not going to like any of it,” she said, dipping her head down and holding her hands in front of her chest. 

Bruce gently pulled her chin up so she would look at him. “Tell me,” he said firmly, horrible dread flooding him quickly.

Kat looked at him for a moment before shutting her eyes tight. “I was on my way to my bike to come home just as it started to rain, and a group of thugs ambushed me and grabbed me all at once. They got my hands before I could even reach for my utility belt, and my injuries made it hard for me to get away from them,” she told him. The more she spoke, the more she sounded like she was getting closer and closer to crying. “One of them stood in front of me… He had a.. He had.. A clown mask on. They all did,” she said, opening her eyes again and meeting his.

Bruce froze. The Joker had come after her… he sent people after Robin from his cell in Arkham? It was a good thing he wasn’t holding anything in his hands, because he would have snapped it in two.

“What happened?” he asked, knowing his voice and tone was the reason she flinched, but he was doing his best to reign in the rest of his rage.

Kat swallowed and hardened her expression. She knew he wasn’t mad at her, or he hoped she knew that, so whatever she was about to say must have been bad.

“The main one, he told me he had a message from the Joker for me,” she said carefully. “That the Joker sent him to tell me that he already snatched one of Batman’s birds, and he was ready to take another for his own.” That would have been enough to make Bruce ready to snap the Joker’s neck right then and there, but then she kept talking. “And he wanted to give me a re-” Her voice broke, so she stopped and took a deep breath. “He wanted to give me a reminder of who to blame for everything that happens to me, and a reminder of who gave it to me is who can take me away from- from  _ you _ .” Bruce watched her with increasing horror as she unzipped her raincoat and pushed away the cut fabric of her t-shirt underneath.

And he was filled with rage so hot and explosive, he wouldn’t have been able to use words to describe it. He stared at the crude symbol of Batman…  _ branded _ across his daughter’s chest… And in that moment, he could have killed.

His hands were shaking as he held her torn shirt aside and looked at it. Her skin was red and pink and  _ damaged _ \- he couldn’t look away, but it made him sick to stare at it.

“I’m sorry,” Katherine said weakly, and he slowly looked up at her, putting his hands back on her face. Tears started falling down her cheeks.

“This is not your fault,” he said firmly, although his voice trembled. “Do not apologize.”

She shook her head a little and took a shaky breath. “No,” she said quietly. “Jason Todd is alive, and I know what we have to do to find him.”

 

\---

 

“It’s simple,” the Arkham knight said to Agent Tyler Bailey, his more-or-less right hand man. He held up a mugshot of the Joker. “We’re using the Joker and his money to get to Batman. Then we kill Joker.”

“You think it’ll be that easy?” Bailey said, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” the Knight said. “But that’s why we have a plan. That’s why we sent so many of those hopeless basket cases from Arkham to be messages for him. It’s all part of the plan. And once Joker is dead…” The Knight picked up a knife from his desk and stabbed it into another photo of a different knight on the desk. “I’m going to kill Batman.”

 

\---

 

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s the only way we can be sure if he’s there or not.”

“I don’t give a damn if you think that’s the only way or not,” Bruce snapped. “It’s not happening.”

“The Joker kidnapped him, sent you a video faking his death, and now Jason Todd is alive somewhere!” Katherine snapped back, struggling to hold still as Alfred treated her most recent wound. “We need to bring him home and-”

“You are not going near that place. You are not going near the Joker,” Bruce said, coming over to her, his tone reflecting his now overflowing anger. “Do I make myself clear?”

“You’ve made yourself crystal clear, Bruce! I don’t think you’re understanding though that once I’m in, I will be able to-”

“To what, find the Joker and do  _ what _ with him?! You don’t know anything about what that place is like!” He shook his head and heard himself shout, “I am  _ not _ going to lose another child to that monster!!”

Katherine seemed taken aback by his last statement, but she held her ground. “You’re not going to lose me, dad, I promise, but you gotta believe in me here!” she said desperately.

“It’s not a matter of-” Bruce started, but she cut him off.

“If I can get in there, I can figure out what happened to Jason!” Kat insisted loudly. “You taught me how to be smart and investigative! You taught me how to solve crimes and use my head to-”

“What you’re trying to tell me is the  _ exact opposite _ of using your head, Katherine!” Bruce yelled. “You want to go undercover inside Arkham Asylum as a patient and try to sleuth out the Joker and by extension Jason from inside. That is not only life-threateningly dangerous, but so stupid that I’m in awe you were able to convince yourself to even tell me this plan!”

Kat hopped down off the table away from Alfred and stood up straight in front of Bruce. Their ten inch height difference made no impact on her as she stared him straight in the eyes and pointed up in his face. “You think I came and told you this stupid plan without coming up with backup ideas and ways to make sure you know what is fucking going on while I’m in there? You think I just want you to send me in Arkham Asylum blind and with no way for you to know whether I live or die in that hell hole while I try to search for the most sadistic and horrible sociopath in existence to see if I can get information about where your not-dead son is?!” she yelled back at him. “If you have that little faith in me, I don’t know why you’ve kept me around this long in the first place! I don’t know why you never just kicked my stupid ass to the curb, if you really think I’m so  _ stupid!!! _ ” She didn’t even look at Bruce’s still angry but shocked expression after she finished shouting before she turned and stomped away, pacing across the room from him and angrily walking back and forth along the length of the wall farthest from Bruce and Alfred.

Bruce probably would have started yelling again, but Alfred put a hand on his shoulder. He snapped his head to the side to see the butler giving him one simple raised eyebrow, and Bruce deflated with a sigh. He unclenched his fists and stretched his fingers, putting his face in his hands and turning to look at Katherine as she continued pacing, sniffling and mumbling to herself. 

“Tell me your backup plans,” he said after a while.

She stopped immediately and looked at him suspiciously. “Does this mean we’re doing it?”

“All I said is for you to tell me your backup plans,” he told her evenly. “You’re not going anywhere until you’re back at one-hundred-percent… But for now, I will hear you out.”

Katherine stared at him and let out a breath she’d apparently been holding in. “Well, my first idea is pretty simple. How do you think I’d look with black hair?”

 

\---

 

The bedroom Lt. Larson gave her was pretty nice. It was small and simple, but clean and comfortable. It had its own small, private bathroom and a mini fridge, which she was very delighted to have. It was something in movies people had all the time, a simple thing she’d always wanted just to be able to say, “Yeah, I have a mini fridge!”

Lt. Larson also gave her a set of fresh clothes and some standard toiletries. She was also given a wad of cash to go buy new clothes with since she was essentially starting over there with nothing. 

“You can go meet Agent Howard like I told the others whenever you want to leave for instructions on how to get back, and if you need a Lyft or a taxi, he can assist with that as well,” Lt. Larson told her.

“You guys really treat each other right here, don’t you?” she asked, looking at the room.

“We’re all risking our lives to eliminate crime in Gotham,” Lt. Larson said with a smirk. “The Knight figures as long as we’re doing our jobs and keeping loyal to the cause, why shouldn’t we be treated right and with proper common decency?”

She raised her eyes. “Guess I, uh, never thought about it that way before. Also the Knight is kind of terrifying, wouldn’t really peg him as a hospitable type.”

Lt. Larson laughed. “Very true. That’s why he’s got folks like me and Bailey helping him. He’s a noble man, despite the terrifying voice modifier on his suit and how scary good he is at his job.”

“Noble..,” she muttered, looking around again. “Okay then.”

“You get settled. All the info you need is in that folder, but I’m around in my office down the corridor and on the right if you need me.”

“Right, thanks.”

Another warm smile before Lt. Larson left her alone in the bedroom. It was nothing like the cell from Arkham, but being alone in the space gave her a small set of jitters.

She changed into the clean clothes first thing. It was a white t-shirt and some black joggers, along with fresh underwear and new shoes. She had no idea how they had information on what size she wore for everything, maybe that was in her records at Arkham for some reason, but she didn’t question it once the feeling of normal and clean clothes really settled in on her skin.

She checked out the bathroom again. Simple tiled floor, single shower stall with a sliding plexiglass door, single sink, and a toilet. Nice and private. Her heart ached of home.

And then she looked in the mirror. Her dark hair with dark blonde roots starting to show fell in a wavy mess over her shoulders. The dark circles under her eyes were worse than ever, and there were still a few bruises and cuts on her lip and jaw healing from fighting with other inmates so recently. Some bruises on her arms were visible thanks to the short sleeved shirt, but otherwise, she looked like a mostly normal, slightly ratty teen. She her eyes flicked up to look directly into her own gaze in the mirror, and she shut them, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes and looking herself in the eye again.

“My name is Katherine Wayne,” she said carefully. “And I am going to find Jason Todd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> OOF THE BIG REVEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hands up tho for votes on who has known this for SURE for at least the last like three chapters? as the flashbacks caught up with current time, it's become more and more obvious of what's going on, and i'm very curious as to when people began having suspicions !!!! oh boy oh boy i'm so excited for all this!!!
> 
> in other news, i went out to the pool the other day to swim and sun for a bit, and i haven't done it in so long (literally YEArs) that my natural born watered-down-mediterranean-mixed-with-florida skin has lost some of its natural immunity to the sun and sunburns. basically my shoulders are a bit more than sunkissed, and while it is uncomfortable, i have my fingers crossed that it will fade into a small tan and mercifully aid in evening out my unfortunate farmers tan i've acquired over the last few months. also i moved a big traffic barrel today and it scraped up my leg (don't ask how moving a simple barrel scraped me up, it's dumb), leaving me with inconveniences from shoulder to shin. but i'm still good yall cause i bought the little debbie like cosmic brownies, but they;re just normal brownies with animal prints in them and i'm hoping my box will have the bigfoot brownies inside. fingers crossed!
> 
> also i'm rereading "sakana" by mad rupert, and yall i just can't contain my emotions for these kids and their romantic endeavors and their friendships and crushes and i juST!!! CANNOT CONTAIN.


	15. Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> so the timeline is now officially caught up!! that means the ball is gonna be rollin a lot faster than it has been, please activate your fifth seatbelt and prepare for phase two of this ride.
> 
> also, this chapter introduces a character named Ava! she's the second main OC in this fic, and she and katherine are like, best buds. soul mates and what not, they're each other's #1. ava is special because she has the ability to know things about the universe, a limited psychic ability, like as if she had the information about the universe or other people fed into her brain as if she read the wikia for them. it kinda started as a joke that she was in this world and knew everything as if she was dreaming she was in like the DC comic universe and stuff, so essentially she's like a human wikia lmao. she helps out the batfam when she can, for example if she is asked if she knows anything about a thing penguin is doing, essentially her mind scopes through penguin's entire wikipedia and can tell them whatever relevant stuff she finds. it's an issue in this story, however, because the arkham knight stuff was an au started with the games, not the comics, so it's like, a blind spot i guess???
> 
> i hope that all makes sense- i never explain it really in the story because i didn't originally intend to 1. post it online 2. finish it 3. make it over 85k words or 4. have anyone other than my other bat-trash friends read it soo. please please comment or shoot me a message on instagram (@auxiliarykit !!!) if you want to know more!! 
> 
> (also is anyone else extremely bothered by the fact that my chapter names are like. not in sync with the actual number of chapter items posted because it is the most agitating thing to me ohhh my goodness gracious. so if ur feelin it just kno i'm feelin it with you)

There’d been a massive breakout at Arkham Asylum. It happened during supper while the director and his guard were preoccupied. No one at the asylum knew how they got out yet or if any staff assisted with the breakout, but there's were eighteen patients completely lost to the wind. Eight of the missing patients were ones who had been declared “completely unstable” and were condemned to remain under constant external care and supervision for the rest of their lives.

The other ten escapees had been rated with varying levels of sanity. Most were troublemakers, ones who fought a lot and did not go into submission easily. 

Among those remaining ten escapees was Charlotte Anna Martha Parker, a relatively recent addition to Arkham Asylum, delivered by Batman after she attacked him and showed traits of insanity and suicidal actions. 

It had been three days after the escape, and there was no sign of Charlotte Parker. Katherine had not returned home. Bruce officially decided to let himself worry.

Four escapees had been found so far, three dead, including one from the mostly sane group and two from the insane group. The last one alive was captured after he tried shooting at a police station while yelling about “bat bait”. He was apprehended quickly, and a joker playing card was found on his person. 

Bruce knew Batman needed to intervene. Both because clearly the Joker was behind the escaped patients and because it gave him a reason to go look for Kat. 

However, a week and a half after the breakout, eleven escapees had been found, dead or alive, but still no sign of Kat. It was about a month since the media declared Robin dead, and it hurt worse now when he heard or saw anything about it. The only civilian who knew Robin wasn’t  _ dead _ dead was Commissioner Gordon. The first night Batman responded to his signal after the explosion incident, Gordon had given him a prologue to the earful and serious, honest-to-goodness threats to arrest him if he had gotten a second child killed. Batman assured him that Robin was fine, and even returned the next night with proof per the Commissioner’s request. Kat had been more than happy to make a short video confirming her survival by posing (still masked) with that days edition of the  _ Gotham Gazette _ and a side note apologizing for “Batman being a stiff without her”. Gordon was relieved, but still gave Batman another short scolding, though nothing Batman wasn’t already telling himself. That had been weeks ago. Now she was missing, possibly dead for real.

At least when she was in Arkham he knew where she was, he knew how to check up on her, she knew how to signal him if she was in trouble. Now? She could be anywhere in the city, dead or alive, hopefully the latter. 

“She could be  _ fucking dead _ ,” Ava said as she stormed into his office at Wayne Enterprises. “They found another fucking dead escapee today.” She shut and locked the door behind her and stomped over to his desk, dropping a newspaper on it. Sure enough, the headline read that the twelfth body from the Arkham escapees had been found. This one was covered in red and white face paint and died while taking a gun into a library, shooting around at people and yelling about the Joker and a game. No one had gotten hurt, thankfully, but the police fatally shot him and found his pockets and clothes stuffed with joker playing cards.

“Why are you telling me this? Do you think I don’t-” Bruce started to say, but she cut him off.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Bruce, all I’m telling you is that twelve out of the eighteen people removed- or “escaped”- from Arkham are fucking  _ dead _ , and we still haven’t found her yet,” Ava said, her voice filled with more emotion than he was used to hearing. 

“I know that,” he almost growled at her, shoving the newspaper off his desk and into the trash. “I am doing everything I can to find her-”

“You’re not doing enough!”

Bruce stood up and slammed his hands on his desk, staring at Ava over his desk. She didn’t even flinch at the noise, just glared back into his eyes. “I am going out every single night, scouring this god-forsaken city- looking down every alley, in every place of gang activity, following every trail these escaped victims have before they run cold. I am doing everything I can do find her,” he said coldly.

“It’s not enough,” Ava said back, enunciating each word carefully, her voice just as cold, but more clearly frightened now.

Bruce sighed through his teeth and sat back down, rubbing his face with his hands. “I know,” he finally said after a few moments. He looked at the photos on his desk. One was of Dick on his eleventh birthday. Another was Dick and Jason together after Jason won his ninth grade spelling bee. Then there was Jason’s last school photo, and next to it was a photo from the most recent Christmas. Alfred took the picture while Kat and himself were decorating the tree. She had several strings of garland wrapped around her with a goofy grin on her face, all topped off with a reindeer antlers headband holding her hair back.

“She isn’t dead,” he said, tearing his eyes from the photo. “And we can’t stop believing that, otherwise we may as well give up.”

“I am not giving up,” Ava said firmly.

“Then don’t barge into my office telling me she could be dead again,” he said, turning his eyes up and looking at her. She had a flash of a wounded look before glaring at his desk and crossing her arms. “Tonight, I’ll see what I can do about this new victim,” he said, gesturing towards the paper in the trash.

“Don’t bother, I already did some digging,” Ava said. “His name is Garfield Wardeal. Declared certifiably insane by two other asylums before being transferred to Arkham. Men in clown masks were seen dropping him off a few blocks from the library before he shot up the place.” She took out a folded paper from her pocket and set it on his desk. “That’s the plate information for the car that dropped him off. Seems like it was a stolen car, but maybe your big computer can track it better.”

Bruce looked over the paper and raised an eyebrow at her. “What?” she said. “I can get stuff done when I want to.”

“Apparently so,” he muttered, tucking the paper into his jacket pocket. “Speaking of which, don’t you have work today?”

Ava stood and shrugged. “I took the week off,” she said simply. “Tell me if you find anything. Also, you should get Dick to help. He has good ideas, too, sometimes.”

Bruce just sighed and shook his head. “Dick won’t be happy about any of this.”

“None of us are. He can join the club,” Ava said as she went back to the door. “Tell him before he finds out another way.”

After two weeks of nothing and several days after Ava’s insistence to do so, Bruce finally called Dick and requested his help. He told Dick to spare him the lecture, after explaining the situation and preceding events, until they found Kat. His oldest son begrudgingly agreed and set to work searching for her throughout the city.

On top of the search for his daughter, the Arkham Knight’s activity had been increasing a frustrating amount. It was helpful having Dick around to assist with that particular issue, and if he were honest with himself, fighting off the Arkham Knight’s agents made it easy to distract his mind from his constant worry and guilt. 

That is, until he found the note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> so a bit of an expository chapter to introduce ava and give some insight on how all this has been looking outside of the arkham knight's walls! ava and katherine were close and best friends before katherine became robin, they're very very dear to each other, so ava really doesn't care to sugarcoat her frustration to bruce lmao. just anxious and very concerned best friend who is ready to strangle her best friend as soon as she sees her again.
> 
> in other news, i got some nice new kicks to hopefully help my shin splints. they're nikes, which i am generally an avid eye-roller at because i worked in shoes for three years, but they seem to be comfortable and supportive, so i'm giving them a shot. they were also on sale so. that helps lmao. i also ate three little debbie brownies today, which is very bad of me, but i have little-to-no self control. maybe i'll run through the house instead of walking for the rest of the evening to get rid of those calories. 
> 
> another update will be up soon!! hang tight!


	16. Fifteen

Training with the agents of the Arkham Knight was interesting, to say the least. It didn’t hold a candle to the months of training she did before becoming Robin, but it was far from easy, especially since she hadn’t been doing her normal workouts since going to Arkham Asylum. She, Al, and Thorne trained together the first three days, and after that, they trained with a bigger group of other agents, starting off squaring off one-on-one in hand-to-hand combat and then upgraded to two-on-one. Katherine tried not to use her full strength and skill, unsure if anyone might recognise her fighting style. She decided to use the same tactic she used when the Arkham Knight had asked her to “show him what she got”, which was basically try to do unpredictable and reckless things while still being smart and aware of what her opponents were doing. When she tripped the Knight and threw his gun at him, she’d been mostly improvising. Batman probably would have frowned upon improvising against such a dangerous opponent, but the Knight didn’t know she was Robin which meant she had some room to throw some curveballs. 

She wasn’t even going to lie to herself about how terrifying it had been to stand right in front of the Arkham Knight and have the face and distorted voice of the person who had almost successfully killed her two months ago speak to her so casually. She also wouldn’t lie about the fact that she’d wanted to attack him and try to strangle him the moment he stepped in her line of sight. If she wouldn’t have been shot by all the other enemies around, she probably would have tried. 

But instead, she made the decision to stay and keep her cover in tact. She knew Bruce would be worried once he heard about the breakout and learned she was missing, and she knew he would be angry if he knew what she was doing… but she also knew the Arkham Knight and the Joker were in cahoots somehow. If she could get close enough to the Knight, maybe she could get some clues about Jason Todd somehow. She was close, she could  _ feel it _ . After that inmate told her the Joker wasn’t at Arkham, she’d been ready to start plotting her way out since there was no need to be there anymore, but those plans had been sped up significantly thanks to the Arkham Knight.

She was Robin. She could impress and charm her way wherever she needed to. If that meant fighting and charming her way to the side of the man who wanted her dead as much as this man did, then so be it. Sorry, Bruce. 

During training, she tried to pretend she wasn’t that much higher above Al and Thorne, skill wise, but her reflexes gave her away, and she was quickly paired with three and then four sparring partners at once while the other two were still against one or two each. It wasn’t like going up against four offensive opponents at once was anything new or hard for her- it was actually a refreshing workout since it was a challenge- but she was terrified of doing something too Robin-like and giving herself away. She tried to bank on the fact that everyone seemed to believe Robin was really dead dead.

“Damn, how do you move so fast, girl?” Al asked her after a day of training during lunch. 

“Uh, good reflexes?” she said with a smirk.

“Yeah, no shit. I meant how did you get so good? No one’s born with reflexes like that,” he said, pointing his fork at her before shoveling more food in his mouth. 

Kat took a bite of the banana she was eating and shrugged. After three weeks in Arkham, she’d had to restrain herself from following Al’s lead and putting all of the  _ good _ , real food they provided at the bunker in her mouth at once and hoarding the rest in her room. “My dad owned a martial arts dojo. We either learned to survive his, uh, I think  _ brutal _ is a good word for the routines we had to do, or we got trampled.”

“Your dad made you do kung fu harsh enough to make you like this at- what are you, fifteen?” Thorne asked, bewildered.

“It was more than just kung fu, but yeah. He had a survive or die kind of attitude about that stuff. He and my two older brothers had to go through it all together,” Kat told her. “Also, I’m sixteen, thank you very much.”

“Jesus,” Al said, shaking his head. “You’re just a kid.”

“Been through more shit than you’d believe, Al,” Kat said with an edge to her voice. She always hated when people called her “just a kid”, usually it was undermining her abilities or maturity.

“Don’t mean anything by it, Parker,” he said, waving a hand at her. “I’ve seen how you fight, clearly you’ve been through a lot. Just sayin’ that’s pretty intense for your age. I’m ten years older than you, and you saw how that trainer chick kicked my ass in five seconds.”

Kat sighed and poked her food with her fork, looking down at it. “Yeah well, I didn’t always make great decisions. There were consequences. I dealt with ‘em.” Understatement.

“You got the Arkham Knight on the ground pretty quick, too,” Thorne said with a mischievous smirk. “Think you could take him? For real?”

“Uh, yeah, not likely,” Kat said with a snort. “Pretty sure he wasn’t trying the other day. I’ve seen him in action before. I’m nowhere near his level.” As she said it, she realized she even believed it a little. He had aids from his armour, though, so she had no idea how it would be like to fight him out of suit. Maybe he wasn’t really any better than her in combat without the suit. Maybe the suit was really only armour and nothing to enhance his strength or combat skills. She knew his aim was pure skill, no enhancements needed. She could tell with how he shot, having been shot by him personally, that was just point-aim-shoot. That scared her the most, probably.

“Probably by the time we’re done with this training stuff, you’ll be as good as him,” Thorne said, continuing with the look she was giving Kat. Kat simply shrugged, and Thorne continued, “What’s it like fighting four of them at once?”

She sounded eager, like she couldn’t wait to be put in a one-against-four match herself. “What’s it like? Uh,” Kat said, rubbing the back of her head. “Fast-paced? I guess. You have to train yourself to see everything at once while also focusing on the most immediate threat without getting stabbed, shot, punched, et cetera.”

“How are you supposed to do that?” Al asked with a confused look. “All at once while also focusing on one thing? What’s that even mean?”

“Uh, I don’t- I guess I don’t really know how else to explain it. It’s kind of just natural to me now, I’m not sure how to elaborate about it,” Kat said, stammering a bit and feeling her cheeks get warm. She wasn’t sure if she was talking too much about her skills or not. She wished they’d change the conversation. Maybe she’d have to do it. Ugh.

“Maybe that’ll come later in the training, Al,” Thorne said optimistically. “I’d love to be able to kick ass real good.”

“Yeah like you need more ways to get out your aggression,” Al said with a snort. 

Katherine let them banter, looking around the small cafeteria. She didn’t make out any familiar faces around, but she couldn’t be too sure. She’d decided not to take her glasses to Arkham for a few reasons. First was because she knew she’d probably get into some fights and didn’t want to have to worry about them getting trashed or stolen or lost. Second was because, just in case she’d found the Joker and he knew her secret identity, she worried it might have been easier for him to identify her as Katherine Wayne if she had her glasses on. Bruce was worried about her being able to see in general while at Arkham, and she’d had to remind him that she could see fine for the most part, it was just far away got blurry sometimes. It hadn’t been much of an issue at Arkham, but now she wished she had them. She wanted every advantage she could get.

Later after Al and Thorne went home, Kat sat in her room staring at the money Lt. Larson had given her. She hadn’t gone out to buy clothes or anything yet, even though she’d wanted to as soon as Lt. Larson suggested it when she gave her the money. She didn’t run out right away, though. In fact, she… was nervous. She had the chance to go back out into the world, even if just for a while on a shopping trip. She hadn’t breathed the polluted “fresh” air of Gotham City in a month, and if she was honest with herself, she was  _ scared _ to go out into the city again. Not so much because the last few times she went out and about on the streets, she got shot, blown up, and  _ branded _ , but mostly because she was terrified of being recognised somehow. There was no way for anyone to recognize her as Robin, she didn’t look like Robin anymore. She was skinnier than Robin, her hair was black and cropped to her collarbones. People might recognize her as Katherine just by her face if she ran into anyone from Gotham Academy, but the bunker wasn’t on that side of town, which made it unlikely that she would see anyone from school.

She was terrified of going outside. She was terrified of her cover being blown. She was terrified of running into trouble on the streets. She was terrified that she might see  _ Bruce _ .. Or even Ava. If she saw either of them, it would be all over. They wouldn’t let her return to the Arkham Knight’s bunker to finish her mission, especially not Ava. She would be lucky if Ava didn’t kill her on sight the next time she saw her, honestly.

Still… she needed to find a way to tell them she was alive, at least. She couldn't just pop by the manor and tell Alfred to let Bruce know she was okay or go swing by Ava’s apartment and leave a letter in her mailbox. The agents of the Knight would be watching her closely since she was a new recruit. If they didn't, they were stupid, and this didn't seem to be a stupid bunch to her. So she would have to assume that if- no,  _ when _ she left, they would be following her somehow. She would have to do something clever that only Bruce would find… She could get a note to Ava safely through him. She just had to figure it out. 

Feeling entirely frustrated, Kat sighed crawled into bed, laying there feeling the stare of the money prickling her skin until she was finally able to fall asleep, promising to make herself leave tomorrow for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> i hope my fellow americans had a fun and safe fourth of july, and i hope the rest of the world's citizens had a lovely wednesday yesterday!! personally, i sat at home and binged a bunch of supergirl and drew some comics. i'm experimenting with black placement, and i love kara danvers byeeeeee
> 
> also, relative to this story, i love al and thorne and i hope you all do too.
> 
> (they've both got fully flushed out backstories that, unfortunately, don't make it in here. but yall they're good stuff)


	17. Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> torture mention, physical abuse mention, suicide/self harm mention

_ Name: Charlotte Anna Martha Parker _

_ Age: 17 (possibly 16) _

_ Height: 5’4” _

_ Hair color: Black _

_ Eye color: Blue  _

_ Sex: Female _

_ Symptoms: Suicidal Tendencies, Depression, Anxiety, Sporadic violence _

_ Admitted by: Anonymous (Batman) _

_ Patient No.  _ _ 2968 _

 

_ Notes:  _

 

_ Patient dropped off on the porch, handcuffed, unconscious. Cameras caught the Batman leaving the patient around approximately 11:44pm. Patient showed signs of self harm, possible suicide attempts, and a burn on the upper right breast/pectoral in the shape of the Batman symbol upon physical inspection. Patient also appeared to be in very good physical condition and shape.  _

_ Patient awoke during physical examination and began violently attacking nurses and guards. Four guards and two nurses were injured before the patient was restrained and sedated. Electric containment cuffs recommended for patient.  _

_ Therapy sessions with Dr. Harleen Quinzel began. Dr. Quinzel reports the patient has compulsive lying tendencies but “also has spunk.” Dr. Quinzel requested to be the sole psychologist in charge of Patient No. 2968. Director has approved Dr. Quinzel’s request.  _

_ Patient fought with three other patients today. Two were sent to the infirmary. Patient is scheduled to begin electroshock therapy in two days. Might be rescheduled for sooner. _

_ A new sedative was tested for the patient today. Sedative A124 was mostly ineffective to the patient.  _

_ Patient is especially susceptible to electroshock therapy. The therapy session hardly began before it had to be paused for the patient’s heart rate to return to normal. Therapy was started over with a new technique of short doses in various parts of the body while the doctor spoke to the patient for the verbal portion of the therapy.  _

_ Dr. Quinzel continues to be impressed by the mental capabilities of the patient. Patient has continued compulsive lying tendencies to other patients and nurses. _

_ Several new medications and dosages were tested on the patient. Various results, although the patient shows a high tolerance to most drugs. _

_ Patient excels in physical recreation. Temper gets out of control occasionally. Patient continues getting involved in fights.  _

_ Patient had to be hosed down today. Patient was placed in solitary confinement and will remain for three days unless further directed. _

_ Dr. Quinzel requested an additional session today. Director approved Dr. Quinzel’s request. Dr. Quinzel reports she is “on the verge of a breakthrough.” _

_ Patient was heard telling other patients about the branding on her chest. Dr. Quinzel believes the patient embraces the punishment branding and encourages staff to speak to her about it. Staff has been discouraged from following Dr. Quinzel’s advice.  _

_ Patient shows signs of increasing depression. Plans are being made to test new drugs on the patient. _

 

The last entry on Patient 2968’s file stopped there. After that, she was removed thanks to promising reports from Harley Quinn that she could serve the Arkham Knight’s cause well. She had chosen to stay and join, much to the Knight’s surprise and pleasure. 

The bat branding was especially interesting, and he would be lying if he said it wasn’t the first reason he accepted her file. The second reason was her story about Batman branding her after a suicide attempt. He was curious. He wanted to know more. 

Jason decided he needed to get to know Charlotte Parker a little better. 

 

\---

 

Bruce read over Kat’s patient file for the, what felt like, hundredth time. It made him just as sick as the first time he read it. He hated the mental images his mind provided for the torture she went through in that place. She’d underestimated what it would be like there as a patient. They both had.

All he wanted was his daughter back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> brief, but crucial chapter.


	18. Seventeen

“I would have thought you'd spend less time cooped up here and in your room after all that time you spent in Arkham,” Lt. Larson said to Katherine the next day during a break in morning training. 

Kat breathed out a laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. “To be honest with you… I’m a bit nervous to be out in the city again,” she admitted. “It feels like if I go back out there, I dunno… Things are so different now. I’m nervous I might see someone I used to know, and that is the last thing I want.”

Lt. Larson placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think it'll be good for you to get some fresh air- or whatever they got in this city,” she said with a smile. Kat laughed a little and looked down. “If you’re nervous about going out alone, we can arrange for one of the other agents to go with you. Use the buddy system and all that.” 

“Nah, it's alright. I need to just get over myself,” Kat told her. She looked up and raised her eyebrows with a small smirk at the Lieutenant. “Besides, I figured you guys’d have someone checking up on me wherever I go just in case anyway,” she said with a cheeky smile as she took a drink of water. 

Lt. Larson’s smiling expression in return confirmed her suspicions. “You're a smarter cookie than they gave you credit for back in Arkham,” she said, crossing her arms. “That's good.”

Kat grinned and shrugged. “Can't act too smart there or they start to feel threatened by you. I figure here, you guys could use a charming smart cookie like myself.”

“We definitely can,” Lt. Larson said with a laugh. She patted Kat’s shoulder again. “Let me know if you change your mind about that buddy-escort, alright?”

“Got it,” Kat said, flashing her a genuine appreciative smile.

After lunch, Kat, Thorne, and Al had to get physicals done, which amused Kat endlessly. They really made sure they knew the physical capabilities, limits, and weaknesses of everyone who worked there. 

Aside from being underweight for her age (thanks, Arkham’s inedible food), the only other thing they discovered during the physical was that she needed glasses. She pretended to be surprised and not know, but inside, she was relieved that she’d gotten a surprise easy solution to at least one of her problems. Plus, they told her they'd be ready in a couple days, which was speedier service than she could have dreamed for. 

The physical also included endurance tests, sprinting, push ups, pull ups, all the general jazz. Kat left Al and Thorne in the dust, not even realizing it until they mentioned it to her. 

Something strange caught Katherine’s attention during the last training session of the day. She was being tested on how well she could fight in various limited conditions, specifically, little-to-no-lighting. They didn't tell her how many people she would be fighting against. 

She stood in the room and waited until they dimmed the lights so much, she wasn't sure if they'd actually shut them off completely or not. She shut her eyes and listened, breathed, and focused on exercises she used to do like this with Bruce. 

 

_ “Don't think about your body, don't think about what your body is doing,” he told her, his voice circling her. She resisted the urge to adjust the blindfold for the fifth time.  _

_ “Extend your senses outside of yourself. Listen, feel, detect any difference in the air around you. Locate your target. Attack. Protect yourself by keeping yourself still, saving your energy until you feel the attack coming. Defend.” _

 

Her eyes snapped open, and her hand reached forward, snatching the wooden staff out of the air as it was being brought down towards her. She yanked it and heard the opponent behind the staff grunt when she removed the staff from their hands and hit them in the chest, sending them backwards. 

Her senses ignited as two new opponents rushed toward her from each of her sides. Katherine stepped towards the person she already hit and grabbed them by their shoulders, kicking out behind their knees, sending them to the ground, and climbing onto their shoulders, using them as a springboard to jump up as the two side rushing people swung to attack and ended up both hitting the person on the ground. Kat landed to the side as the opponents collided and ran up behind the one who came at her left. She whacked them in the head with her borrowed staff and kicked them in the back, shoving them forward and into the others. She heard them all respond before moving, standing away from them to wait and see what happens. 

She could have continued attacking them, but all three were down. She had no way to apprehend them or make sure they stayed down without possibly seriously injuring them. Part of her wondered why she didn't just attack them without holding anything back. What if one of these people had been the ones to shoot her out of the sky the night the Arkham Knight almost killed her for good? What if one of them had been any of the agents who showed her no mercy as she, a teenage sidekick, had fought at Batman’s side?

She ducked as something came at her head. Her arms moved to attack, but her new attacker disarmed her, and she moved her arms into defensive position as she heard the staff clatter to the floor. 

The new opponent jumped right into hand-to-hand combat. She punched and ducked and kicked and jumped, her body falling into a strangely familiar feeling set of movements. She didn't know if it was from the days of consistent fighting and training or if it was all in her head, desperate to find something stable in the craziness that was her life now.

A fist connected with her jaw, and she grunted, stumbling backwards. She’d stopped paying attention for a second, and it'd cost her. The attacker had her on the ground with their arm pressed to her throat in three seconds. Her surprise increased when she realized that they were straddling over her, their face inches from her own. She didn't know why that made her so uncomfortable, but she decided it was time to improvise. One of her hands went to the arm against her throat and the other flew up and grabbed the attacker’s nose. They made a slightly startled noise and physically reacted just how she’d hoped; their arm lifted just enough away from her throat for her to push it away and lift her head up as she pulled their head towards her via their nose. She winced before headbutting them and threw her hands around their neck, tangling her legs with theirs and managing to push them up and flip the both of them over until they were on their back and she had them pinned with her hands on their throat, her knees on their biceps, and her torso bent over so her face was close to theirs, just in case they tried to swing their legs up and kick her in the head.

“I think that's enough,” the person under her said, startling her. The lights turned back up. and Kat had to squint her eyes as they tried to readjust. “If you don't mind,” the person said again, and she realized she still had them pinned down. 

“Sorry,” she said, quickly standing up and away from them and extending a hand out to help them up. They wore standard training clothes as well as light armour and one of those ninja masks that had a piece covering the eyes. They seemed a little surprised by her hand but took it anyway. 

Once they were up, Kat looked over and saw the other three agents off to the side of the room. They had already removed the ninja masks, and one of them was rubbing her head.

“Why the masks?” Kat asked, turning back to the person she helped up.

“These have night vision modifiers in the eye masks. The hood has light padding for some protection,” he said, pulling the hood off. He gave her a strange smile, and she was a bit taken aback by his appearance. He still had a mask over his eyes, but she didn't need to see them to know he was around her age. His facial features rang of a boy who was still growing into his puberty-chiseled facial structure, and he had stubble that every teenage boy had who couldn't decide between trying to grow a beard and going with the possibly less embarrassing disheveled stubble look. His black hair was a ruffled mess from the hood. There was something familiar about him, but she didn't know how to place it. She did her best to keep her expression unchanged, but then her eyes settled on something on his cheek: a letter  _ J _ had been branded into his cheek, small enough that it wasn’t that much bigger than a quarter, but big enough for her to know it was a message, a reminder- 

“But some of us,” the boy continued, snapping her out of Her thoughts. She looked back up to his eyes as he started to take the mask off. “Just like to keep our less-than-pleasing faces covered.” His hands brought the eye mask down, and Katherine stopped breathing for a moment. She desperately hoped she didn't look as surprised as she was, because she was shaken to the core. 

The toothy grin he gave her combined with the striking green eyes she’d spent hours upon hours staring into with photos from Bruce’s mantle and photo albums was enough to make her almost lose her composure completely. 

Because standing in front of her was, without a doubt, Jason Todd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> DUN DUN.


	19. Eighteen

Katherine hadn’t been sure if she’d wanted to get away from the boy in front of her or if she wanted to hug him. 

Instead of doing either, she'd just stood there, staring at him. He’d smirked at her as the agent leading the exercise dismissed them from the room, and she’d watched him and the other agents leave the room, absently trailing behind them.

“Good work, Parker,” Agent Cooper told her as she walked over to him and the two other agents who’d been monitoring her fight. “Interesting tactic, stepping away from the fight after you knocked them all over.”

She shrugged. “There wasn't a reason to keep fighting them if they were all in a lump, also I didn't have anything to restrain them with, so.” She shrugged again. 

“And grabbing the agent’s nose to get out of his choke hold?” he asked with a smirk.

Her lips turned up a little. “I improvise.”

Cooper chuckled and nodded, handing his clipboard to one of the other agents. “I like it,” he said with a smile. “Your skills are very impressive. You'll be able to start heading into field missions much sooner than your fellow new recruits.”

“Really? I didn't think I was that much higher in skill level than them,” she lied, rubbing her neck awkwardly. She clearly hadn’t done as good a job hiding her abilities as she’d meant to. She just hoped she could keep the Robin trademark moves inside and keep pulling those nose-grabbing Kat-style improv moves, since clearly they worked just as well.

Cooper patted her shoulder. “Don't have to lie and try to be modest with me, kid. You’re talented, don't try to hide it.” He stepped back over to the computer and control panel for the training room. “That was the last exercise for you today, Parker. So go out and enjoy the rest of your day.” He flashed her one more smile before turning back to the computer.

She nodded and thanked him quietly before ducking out of the room. She looked around for Jason Todd, but he’d vanished. A part of her wondered if she’d hallucinated him, but she shut her eyes and saw him clear as day in her mind. He was here, somewhere. She just had to find him again and… figure the rest out from there. 

Kat went straight to her room and changed into the t-shirt and joggers, pulled on her old sneakers from the asylum, and grabbed the wad of money on the dresser on her way out the door.

 

\---

 

Gotham City was always the same. Those in power and government would say it was constantly changing, constantly moving forward, but those who saw the true heart of Gotham knew the truth. They knew Gotham was a pretty face with a nasty heart. Some of that truth had come to light when the Batman arose. Over the years, however, he just became a symbol of one kind of another for either side of a Gothamite’s agenda.

The sun was going down by the time Katherine got into town and out of the warehouse district. She’d almost forgotten how the air of the city smelled and tasted, and she was grossed out by how it comforted her. That stiff, stale air of Arkham had made her miss the many upsetting smells of the city. Yikes.

She missed the air out at Wayne Manor, even moreso now that she was back in the city, so much closer to home than she’d been in a month. It was on the edge of city limits, plenty acres of private land to smell like the country air (except without the reek of nearby farms she knew of from the South). 

No. She wouldn't let herself get wrapped up in memories of home. She wouldn't let herself start getting too emotional, now that she was living on the edge of freedom. She could have gone home to Bruce and made a plan to destroy the Arkham Knight from the inside out together. She could have just run to Blüdhaven and gone into hiding until she and Bruce could take down the Knight together. Hours ago, she’d had options that she was choosing not to do. 

But now she’d seen Jason Todd alive, in the flesh. Now she had no choice left. She had to stick with the Knight and his agents and figure out how to get closer to Jason. She had to figure out what had happened to him and how to get him home. Well. She supposed she needed to figure out… if he  _ wanted _ to go home, if he remembered what home was. Oh boy, she was in a mess.

On top of all that, she still had to figure out how to work her way up to figuring out what the Knight was up to, his connections with the Joker, and how to bring both of them down, preferably both at once.

She had to do all of this on her own, no help from Batman, no help from Ava, and she had to do it all without blowing her cover. Sure. No sweat. 

Her shopping mostly consisted of Target and Wal-Mart. They were close to each other as well as being near some busier streets which made it easy for her to blend in. She bought several pairs of jeans, five or so shirts, some basics (socks, underwear, sports bras, the works), another set of workout clothes, and new sneakers to replace the Keds from Arkham. The white things had grown on her after a while, but she wanted her style back. She'd started dressing nicer after Bruce took her in. Perks of having a wealthy adoptive father with people who knew how to dress. But she still remembered how to shop and dress like you didn't have any more cash than the person next to you on the street. She hoped the plain style choices she made helped to continue setting her as far away from the image Katherine Wayne had in public as possible. 

Once she returned to the warehouse district, it was full night. Batman would be on the streets soon, and she didn't want to risk anything. As soon as she got out of the crowds, she put on a dark coloured hoody and tried to blend in with the other randos wandering the more deserted areas. She didn't stop clenching her fists and counting her heartbeats to keep calm until she stepped back into her room in the dormitories and locked the door. 

 

\---

 

“Nothing suspicious, sir,” Agent Howard reported.

“Tell me everywhere she went,” the Arkham Knight said, crossing his arms and looking at the agent from across the table.

“Target, Wal-Mart, a couple of those thrift stores on Bower Street, and CVS.”

“Hmm. Nothing suspicious indeed,” the Knight said. “Thank you, Howard. Dismissed.”

Howard nodded before leaving the Knight’s quarters and shutting the door behind him.

The Knight took off his helmet and shook out his hair. He looked into the mirror across the room, and Jason Todd looked back. 

Something was off about Charlotte Parker. It had been a feeling until he saw the way she stared at him. He’d felt mixed emotions seeing her up close in person without his helmet or the night vision mask on. Her file said she was seventeen, but she looked a little younger. He wasn’t sure why she would lie about her age, unless she was eighteen or older and thought being a minor would get her some slack in Arkham. Her eyes, with their heavy dark circles beneath them, had something broken in them that reminded him of what he saw in his own reflection. He was definitely weirded out by how similar they seemed to be, and honestly, that's where a lot of his suspicion was based from (aside from the Batman related things). She was fast and agile, much stronger than she should be at her age. She had a dad and two brothers from whom she apparently learned her martial arts and fighting skills from. He learned a lot on the streets, but Bruce had been the first to teach him how to really fight. Everything he knew was based from those teachings. The rest was what he'd learned on his own. 

He sat at the desk and sighed. When he'd taken that hood off, she looked at him with a flicker of surprise. Most people were surprised at his age, some called him handsome, “even with the brand on the cheek”. But when he'd taken the mask off, she seemed shocked. Her expression only flickered, but he could tell in her eyes, how they widened slightly but just enough to tell him she knew something. Maybe she’d seen him on the streets as a kid. Maybe she’d gone to school with him when he lived with Bruce. The logical part of his brain told him that was probably why she had something familiar about her, why he felt a strange draw to her. 

But then he remembered the Bat brand on her chest and her pathetic story about Batman giving it to her. He didn't care how long ago he’d been Batman’s sidekick- his  _ son _ \- Batman would never do something like that to a kid, a crazy suicidal one nonetheless. She was lying. 

He needed to get closer to her, figure out how she really got that scar and get the truth about whatever else she was lying about. He hoped she liked the sight of Jason Todd, because she was about to see a lot more of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> things are really spICING UP!!!! HOO BOY


	20. Nineteen

It had been eight days since Katherine arrived to the Arkham Knight’s bunker of secret forces (at least that's what she was calling it). It had been three days since she saw Jason Todd. 

She’d decided a day or two ago that the Arkham Knight and his group of agents was more or less just a really big, organized gang. She determined that their “mission” was to control and eliminate crime in Gotham City, but she knew their real goal, the goal of the Arkham Knight, was to get rid of Batman. She didn’t know why, but after a little bit of snooping and casually asking the right questions, she’d figured out that the Knight’s vendetta against the Dynamic Duo hadn’t ended with Robin’s death, as she’d assumed. He and his agents had always seemed more interested in attacking and hurting her than Batman, but maybe she just had never noticed how hard they were hitting Batman since she’d been so preoccupied trying not to die.

A few other agents around the bunker had told her they suspected the Arkham Knight wanted to kill Batman to become the new Batman. Others said he didn’t care if the Bat lived or died, just that he wanted the Bat to stay out of his way. She’d asked Lt. Larson about Robin’s “death” one day, curious as to what other information she could get.

“You never heard about how Robin died?” she’d asked Kat, clearly surprised.

“I think I got locked up before it happened,” Kat told her. “I found out via Harley Quinn during a therapy session with her one day.”

“I see. Well, some of our agents were going against the Batman. They wounded Robin, she got caught in the crossfire. Then she and Batman flew into a building that the Arkham Knight had set rigged to explode,” Lt. Larson explained. “Batman showed up on the streets a few nights later without Robin, but for the first week and a half or so, everyone just assumed she was still laying low, you know, cause she hadn’t been out much for a while anyway. But then the days went on, and the  _ Gotham Gazette _ declared her dead. Everyone else went along with it, and Batman never denied it.”

_ Caught in the crossfire my ass, _ Kat thought to herself. Clearly the Knight had a certain team of people with him who hadn’t minded killing a teenager in cold blood, and they also must have been fine coming up with a story to cover up killing a kid just in case she actually did die.

“Robin was annoying, clever little punk who knew how to get in the middle of our operations, but she was still just a kid. Younger than you, I heard,” Lt. Larson continued. “I’m glad she’s out of our hair, but I’m not glad she’s dead. I’ve got a daughter not much younger than she was.” She’d sighed and pursed her lips.

“Why did you join the Arkham Knight’s little army of people here, Lt. Larson?” Kat had asked her then. “And how come you’re, like, the only person I’ve met with a military title?”

“Cause I  _ was _ in the military, Parker,” she said. “I was discharged from the army seven years ago. Some of the Knight’s men came recruiting, sold me on their cause of getting rid of crime in this city. It’s a shithole of a city, but it’s home. I’ll do whatever I can to keep the place I’m raising my kids safer. The Knight told me to keep my title from my army days, that’s why I use it. I earned it.”

“Makes sense,” Kat said with a shrug. “What were you discharged for? If- If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Don’t mind depending on your reaction,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “You ever hear about the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ bullshit?” Katherine raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Lt. Larson said, “A man trying to come onto me found out I’m gay after I refused and threatened to report him. Those eyebrows better not be judgemental ones, kid.”

“No, no no no,” Kat said quickly, holding up her hands. “Not judgemental at all- or, well, not against you. I’m bisexual, so I- I sort of get it. I mean, I’ve never been kicked out of the military for it, but like. Bullies and stuff. Uh, sorry, I think I’m, I guess I’m rambling. Please stop me.”

Lt. Larson laughed and put a hand on Kat’s shoulder. “You’re fine, Charlotte, don’t worry about it. But yes, that’s why I’m called Lieutenant, because I am one.”

Kat had eagerly accepted another round of training after that, hoping to push her embarrassment from rambling aside with some practice fights.

Over dinner that night, she’d heard some of the agents talking about the Arkham breakout information they saw in the news.

“They found another one dead today. That makes eight dead total,” one of the agents said.

“Another? Was it by one of our guys again?” the second agent asked.

He snorted. “Probably. It was one of the ones who left after being brought here.”

“That makes five of those. The other six ones they found were from the lot given to the Joker, then,” the other agent said.

So there’d been eleven Arkham escapees found so far, over half of them dead, Kat thought to herself, matching up the statistics in her head as she eavesdropped. She wondered how many total they’d broken out of Arkham, how many more escapees there were still to find, excluding herself, Al, and Thorne. She wondered briefly if Bruce was keeping up with the body count, but then scoffed at herself because of course he was. She felt a horrible sinking feeling of guilt as it hit her that he was probably waiting to see if the next dead body they found was hers. She needed to find a way to let him and Ava know she was okay soon. But she knew they were still watching her closely. She figured they’d probably be watching her until she did something to earn her keep, to prove her loyalty to them and their cause… and their leader. Just another reason to really step up with trying to get close to the Arkham Knight.

Those thoughts stuck with her the rest of the evening. She managed to doze off for a couple of hours, but woke up around 2am, restless and sweaty from the anxiety spilling from her mind and body. She decided to exert some of this restless energy she had with some good ole violence, and she changed into a tank top and shorts before slipping out of her room and heading to the training arena.

There were a surprising amount of people out and about at 2am, she thought, counting five guards mulling around and about as many residents of the bunker lingering in some of the common areas. None of them paid attention to her, thankfully, and she went to the main training room unbothered.

The room was left open twenty-four-seven, probably for just occasions. She flipped the lights on and walked around, examining the room for the first time by herself.

There were a few hanging punching bags in one corner of the room. Another corner of the room had practice weapons, medicine balls, weights, stuff to advance or hinder in training routines. The floor was covered with black mats, and she sat down, trying to swallow down the memories of training in the Bat-Cave where everything, including the training mats, was black.

She started with basic stretches, counting out the sets in her head to keep her mind occupied. She moved on to backbends, handsprings, flips, rolls, combinations of everything at once. Her tank top kept sliding when she flipped, so she just ditched it, feeling somehow massively more light. She missed the fitted clothing of her Robin costume. She missed the comfortable, breathable material underneath her armour. She fixed the laces of her shoes, trying not to think about practicing with Bruce in the Cave. It was always easier to practice in workout clothes like how she was dressed now, but wearing the costume and cape was a challenge. That made it more fun.

She practiced her jumps and landing punches and kicks to some of the big hanging punching bags. She threw her whole body and weight into it, imagining that the punching bag was the Arkham Knight, the Joker, the nurses back at Arkham. She did a running jump at one of the punching bags, jumping into a drop kick and using the force of her feet against the bag to push off and flip away. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she misjudged the swing of the punching bag, and landed with an uneven movement of weight on her hands, throwing herself awkwardly onto her feet and ultimately stumbling and falling down onto her back. She groaned as she landed on a particularly painful bruise leftover from one of her last fights at Arkham. She still had a lot of those, but so far had managed to do a good job with letting them heal and not get more bruises from her training here.

She sighed, thinking about how stupid it was to misjudge the swingback of a  _ hanging _ punching bag and groaned again, slamming her fist down onto the mat before putting her hands over her face.

She barely had a minute of peace before she heard the door click open, and she was sitting up, ready to jump into action within seconds. Her eyes landed on the newcomer, and her body tensed up.

“That looked like it hurt,” Jason Todd said to her, giving her another peculiar sideways smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> ngl, these next few chapters are probably my favourites of the whole story (^':


	21. Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> torture mention

“Just, uh, just landed on an old bruise is all,” Charlotte said, pushing herself to her feet. “Nothing new, nothing serious.”

He’d been watching her train alone for several minutes. Clearly wrapped up in her own zone, her own mind, she’d seemed so confident and fluid in her moves and jumps and attacks that he doubted she even had to think about what she was doing at all. It was probably all first nature to her to move like that. He could relate.

“You sure? I can go get you some ice if you need,” he offered, gesturing back towards the door.

“No, no, really, it’s fine,” she said, waving her hands dismissively and giving him a polite smile.

He shrugged and took another few steps into the room towards her. “What are you doing training in here at this time of night anyway?”

She adjusted the ponytail her hair was in and looked anywhere on him but his eyes. “I’m not much of a sleeper these days,” she said. “Pretty sure the circles under my eyes are dark enough to tell you that for me, though,” she said, a bitter smile rising to her lips as she pointed under her eyes.

He breathed a laugh. “They’re about as bad as mine,” he said, gesturing to his own. “I don’t get much sleep either. Too much on my mind all the time.”

“That what brings you down here?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Sort of. I was walking around, saw you in here. You’re pretty good.” She simply shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. Was she being modest or trying to hide something? He couldn’t be sure. “You want a sparring partner? I could give you more of a challenge than those punching bags,” he teased.

“Sure,” she said, finally looking into his eyes and smiling. Huh, she responded more readily than he’d expected. He’d more than half expected her to reject him and leave. What a pleasant surprise. “Though, don’t make fun of me too much if you manage to get me down as fast as you did the other day.”

He laughed and set his keys and phone down, pulling off his t-shirt and making his way over to her. “I might have gotten you on the ground first, but you still won that match. I’ll admit, you really caught me off guard with, uh, what was it? Grabbing my nose?”

She pursed her lips as she smiled and rubbed her cheek. “Uh, yeah,” she said with a flush on her cheeks. How cute. “I improvised.”

“Improvising is good. Keeps us on our toes.” He rolled his shoulders and walked over until they were only a few feet apart. He looked her over quickly as she fixed her ponytail again, and his eyes landed on the brand on her chest. He’d never seen it in person before; in training, she always had t-shirts on. He’d seen a photo of it from her Arkham files, but she stood in front of him now with only the strap of her sports bra to cover up a portion of one of the wings. He felt a pang on his cheek, a ghost pain reminder of his own unpleasant scar.

He looked back at her face and found her staring at him, probably watching him do as who knows how many other people had done upon first seeing the brand.

She didn’t comment on how he’d stared at it probably too long, though. “How do you want to start?” she simply asked.

“You first,” he said, stepping back a pace and rubbing his hands together. “Let’s see what you can do.”

She shrugged, and they both got into a prep position, moving slightly to circle each other, but very quickly, she lunged at him. He made to grab her as she dodged towards his right side, but before she came in contact with him and before he could grab onto her, she rolled past him and swung out her leg, kicking his legs and knocking him over. Jason easily caught himself and moved to the side as he felt her coming up on his left. She changed her momentum and came at him, going in for a punch. He blocked it, and they had a back and forth trade between throwing punches and kicks and blocking and dodging them. He bent over, grabbing her around the waist and supplexing her. She let out a pained noise, but recovered surprisingly quickly, catching him in a headlock as he sat up. She kneeled behind him, pressing one of her knees into his back as she held her arms around his neck.

“Impressive,” he mumbled, holding onto her arms. “So, what’s your name?” He reached behind him and grabbed at the pressure points on her waist, causing her to flinch just enough for him to throw his head back into her chest and knock them both over. Her arms released him as she fell, and he spun around, locking one of her legs in his and throwing a punch toward her face. She caught his fist in one of her hands and yanked his arm down, locking his arm in hers.

“You’re asking my name?” she asked between a few huffed breaths. “I thought everyone here read my Arkham file.” She threw her other knee up and into his gut before pulling his arm the rest of the way and rolling him off her. He let go of her and they both got back to their feet. 

“Of course I read your file,” he said, a smirk on his lips. “I was mostly asking to be polite.” He jumped into an attack, switching up his normal attacks by swinging one hand by her head, which she dodged, and the other into her side, which she did not avoid since she was dodging the other punch. She groaned and he jumped at her, putting his hands on her shoulders as she bent over slightly from his punch. He vaulted over her and used his passing momentum to shove her to the ground. She caught herself on the way down with her hands and went into a handstand, pushing herself up and landing on her feet about six feet away from him. “My name’s Jason,” he said, rushing in for another attack.

She ducked and rolled as he dashed towards her, her body hitting his legs like a fucking human bowling ball, sending him stumbling forward and catching himself after a few steps. Damn, she really threw those improvisations out left and right. If she was an enemy, that would potentially be a pretty fair sized issue. “I’m Charlotte,” she said once she stood back up and faced him, going in for another attack. 

“Nice to meet you,” he said, catching her around the waist and tossing her to the ground again. She grunted as she landed on, no doubt, another bruise, but rolled over and got back to her feet, making another run at him. She had determination, he’d give her that.

“Likewise.” She moved her legs like she was going to kick his ankles again, so he stepped aside to dodge, but she pulled his own fakeout on him as he dodged and moved right into an uppercut on the left side of his jaw.

By the time they were both panting and out of breath, he had no idea what time it was or how long they’d been going at it. He just knew that they seemed to be, surprisingly, more or less evenly matched. He was stronger than her and could punch harder than her, but she had those weird improv surprises that got him every time. Next time they’d have to bring out the prop weapons. Maybe what she lacked in strength she made up for in force with a sword or staff.

They sat together against the main wall of the training room with water bottles from the fridge nearby.

“You’re pretty good, Charlotte,” he said, flashing her a grin. 

She nodded and redid her ponytail again. “You’re nothin’ to sneeze at yourself,” she said, glancing at him.

“Nothing to sneeze at? So I guess your fighting style isn’t the only quirky thing about you, huh?”

“What, you’ve never heard that expression before?”

He snorted. “Uh, no, can’t say I have.”

She hummed thoughtfully and drank some water. 

His eyes peeked over at the brand on her chest again. He had her alone, they’d just bonded over wrestling and fighting for who knows how long. This seemed as good an opportunity to get the truth out of her as any.

“How’d you get that?” he said, deciding not to waste time beating around the bush.

“What?” she asked, turning and looking at him.

He raised his hand and lightly touched the brand. “That.” He met her eyes and dropped his hand back to his lap, taking note of the goosebumps that arose on his arms.

“I thought you said you read my file,” she said slowly, raising her eyebrows skeptically at him.

“Come on. Batman gave it to you? Seriously?” he said, leaning his head back against the wall but keeping his eyes locked with hers.

“Seriously,” she said, hesitating before looking away. He watched her expression shift on her profile. “I got into a- what’s that word Harley used? Uh… Oh,  _ kerfuffle _ . I got into a kerfuffle with him, we tussled, he gave me this, dropped me off at the looney bin,” she told him, fiddling with the lid of her bottle.

“That’s what your file said,” he said matter-of-factly.

“So why are you asking?” she said, glancing at him again.

“Because,” he said lifting his head and turning his body to face her. “I know you’re lying.”

She gave him a tired look. “I’ve been called a liar by a lot of people. You think this is going to make me change my story to whatever you want to hear?”

He stared at her blue eyes, thinking again that there was something familiar about her. He kept his expression the same. “I know a lie when I hear one,” he said. “And honestly, I’m surprised there’s been enough idiots to believe that story you just told me.”

“What do you mean?” she cocked her head to the side slightly.

“Come on, seriously? Batman?  _ The Batman? _ You think it’s honestly believable that he would beat on a kid and fucking  _ brand his symbol into them _ to, what was it? Teach a lesson or some shit?” He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Batman is a lot of things, but he doesn’t do shit like that. Especially not to kids.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and then shrugged, looking satisfied and turning her head away from him again. “You know, I’m surprised people here are believing it as much as they are. At Arkham, I figured it was a wild enough story that the staff would just roll their eyes and the other inmates would either leave me alone or try to pick a fight with me over it,” she said with a sigh. “They thought I was nuts there anyway, what’s another crazy story, right? And the assholes who thought they could take me in a fight over it were clearly mistaken.” She breathed out a bitter laugh and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as the bitter smile fell from her lips.

He frowned as he realized he felt bad for her. He still didn’t know the truth about anything, but clearly, whether she meant to end up in Arkham or not, it had hurt her more deeply than she had anticipated. She seemed like the type to use her tough-kid attitude to get through most hard things in life, and this might have been the first time it didn’t hold up enough for her. Sure she’d been able to hold her own in fights with other inmates, but he  _ had  _ read her file, he knew what they’d done to her there. He remembered the things they’d done to him while he’d been locked up in those aching white walls. He’d been around her age, trapped with the Joker and abandoned by his father. He knew the things that happened to him in Arkham, the things said to him and put in his head. He realized he didn’t care so much right now what the truth behind her backstory was. Right now, she was just another kid abandoned by her family who’d been tortured and forced to fight for her life.

Even though he sympathized with her, he still had to hold his suspicions. “I’ll tell you how I got mine if you tell me how you got yours,” he said finally, raising his eyebrows inquisitively when she flicked her eyes over to him.

She moved her head, resting her cheek on her knees and looking at him sideways for a few heartbeats before sighing again. She sat up and turned her body towards him, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap. “How do I know you’ll tell me the truth?” she asked carefully.

He shrugged and lifted up his hands. “You’ll just have to trust me, and I’ll have to trust you.”

She squinted at him again before dipping her head forward in a nod once.

He nodded back and tapped his cheek, his finger brushing against the forever aching  _ J _ on his face. “The Joker gave this to me. Kidnapped me and held me against my will for months. Branded his little letter on my face to remind me I was his…  _ plaything _ , is probably the best word, as disgusting as it sounds,” he told her, repressing a shudder as the memory of that day flashed through his mind when he blinked.

She looked more sad than he’d expected. She was the first person he’d ever told the truth about that to. He wasn’t sure why he’d told her the truth. He supposed because he figured if he really told the truth, she would too. Maybe karma or some shit. Maybe a part of him finally wanted to get it off his chest.

But he hadn’t expected her to bite her lip the way she was or furrow her eyebrows. She didn’t just look sad about his confession… she looked  _ mad _ . It was the smallest spark of anger in her eyes, but he saw it, and he inclined his head toward her a little, silently urging her to speak up about whatever suddenly pissed her off.

“What was- Why did the Joker kidnap and do that to you?” she asked, her tone even. He knew that was the kind of even tone that was hiding something, though. He felt a little uncomfortable. Maybe this is why she didn’t tell the truth about herself. Telling the truth meant being vulnerable, even for a moment, and he didn’t like it one bit.

He lifted a leg and rested his arm on his knee, setting his chin on his arm and raising an eyebrow at her. “Would you believe that it wasn’t personal against me?” he said with a sigh. “Or at least, not at first. Maybe not ever.”

She looked down at his chest and wrung her hands in her lap, popping her knuckles idly. She lifted her eyes back to his, her expression still even, that spark of anger still sitting in her irises. “Yes,” she said simply.

That surprised him. She didn’t ask or say anything else, just dropped her eyes to a different part of his face.

“Your turn,” he said quietly.

She took a moment, taking a couple deep breaths. She was trying to decide whether or not to tell him the truth. He thought about prompting her, but decided it would be safer not to interrupt her train of thought. He just looked at her, watching her eyes flick between somewhere on his body and the floor. Finally she shut her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

“I was walking home one night, got jumped by a bunch of goons. Turned out they were sent by the Joker,” she said carefully. When she said the Joker’s name, Jason wasn’t able to even try to hide his shock, frowning and narrowing his eyes at her. She kept her eyes on his shoulders, his chest, anywhere but his face. “One of them branded me with this, knocked me out, left me in the rain.”

“Why would the Joker come after you? Why did the Joker specifically do that to you?” Jason demanded, a bit harshly at first, easing up on his second question, but keeping his voice firm.

She finally lifted her eyes and looked at him straight on. Her eyes still had that anger in them, but there was something else there now. Her expression was serious, but her voice was tired when she spoke. “Would you believe it wasn’t personal against me?” she said, repeating his own words.

“Are you trying to play a game or something?” he snapped, leaning towards her. “Cause it’s not fucking funny.”

“You wanted the truth,” she said, bitterness seeping into her voice. “The goon told me it was a message for Batman. I figured it was some threat to, like, kill me and frame Batman for it or something. Ruin Batman’s reputation by making it look like he killed a kid.” She cocked her head to the side slightly and raised her eyebrows a little at him, otherwise keeping the same expression. “But now I think maybe he was threatening to kidnap another street kid in some freak elaborate plot to pit us here in this army or something against Batman. Fuck if I know,” she mumbled at the end, rubbing her eyes with one hand and sighing.

“What makes you think I had anything to do with Batman? What makes you say I was a street kid?” he asked, trying to keep his tone more even.

“I have no idea if you had anything to do with Batman. I just know Batman has a reputation for trying to help kids, and pitting them against him might be a weakness or something. Maybe it was some kind of insult since two Robins have died now,” she said with a shrug, dropping her hand to her cheek and looking at him again. “And I know you’re a street kid. We all have that same dumb tough-kid exterior. We see it when we look in the mirror, we see it in each other.” She shrugged again.

He wasn’t sure if she was lying about not knowing if he had any affiliation with Batman, but she was spot on about knowing a street kid from their looks. He sat back and tried to decide what to believe and what not to believe. It was awfully coincidental that she happened to have been burned by the Joker, literally.

“How did you end up here?” she asked him.

_ The Joker tortured me for months, kept me on the edge of death, showed me the truth about Batman, and helped me become the Arkham Knight,  _ he thought to himself. That definitely seemed like way too much information.

“The Joker,” he said simply. “I got away from him and came here. Joined the fight against crime in Gotham.”

She kept looking at him, her expression trying to decide if she believed him. “You think this is really all about getting rid of crime in Gotham?” she asked finally.

He frowned a little. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” she said scooting closer to him and crossing her legs. “That this whole… organization may be out there trying to clean up the streets, but the Arkham Knight has his own agenda.”

He didn't like where she was going. She was talking like she knew things she definitely shouldn't have known. “And what's that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and pretending like he wasn’t trying to weigh if she was too smart for her own good.

She gave him a tired smirk. “It's not a big secret. And if it is, he needs to work on how he shows his priorities.” She leaned closer to him, and his anxiety continued trickling up his throat. “He wants to kill Batman.”

Jason fought to keep his expression even. She definitely might be too smart for her own good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> made it to chapter twenty!!! yeehaw!!!
> 
> this chapter just set like twenty balls rolling at once. ooOOOOoOOooooOh i'm so exCITed!!!!!!!!! i love the relationship that builds between these two characters.... i just... oof (clenches chest) i love so many things
> 
> one of those things is supergirl-y aLL I'M STILL BINGING AND BOY AM I FEELING MANY THINGS. the only thing that never changes is my unwavering love for kara, my endless love for winn, and my ever-growing respect and adoration for cat grant. how's your day going


	22. Twenty-One

Kat had been with the Arkham Knight for fifteen days, and this was only her third time leaving the bunker. 

She overheard an agent a few days before mention seeing Nightwing and Batman together, and that had efficiently scared her enough to stay underground. The only reason she was even out now was because it was getting dark, and the Arkham Knight was out on an operation tonight. Batman (and any company with him…) would be plenty preoccupied. 

As she walked the streets, her mind went back to the other night in the training room with Jason Todd. They finally left when some people came in for training and told them it was after five in the morning. 

Before they'd left, though, Katherine had spent the entire time wondering if she’d made the right decision to tell him the truth about the brand on her chest. Jason had reacted in a way she couldn't blame him; their stories were eerily similar. They both even hid a large part of truth from each other- Kat knew why the Joker branded Jason. It was just like Jason’d said, he was the Joker’s  _ plaything _ . The brand was to remind him that he had been claimed by the Joker. That’s what they’d told her when giving her her own scar.

The anger of knowing that the Joker had faked Jason’s death and kept him hostage, torturing and tormenting him for months and months was still fresh under Kat’s skin. She could close her eyes and see the clip of the Joker shooting Jason, see the teenager’s lifeless body fall from the chair and onto the ground. Then she opened her eyes and saw the same boy, aged up a few years, walking around the bunker, shining those green eyes at her. It made her skin crawl. She wanted to hug him, this boy she’d never known but always looked up to, and she wanted to tell him that they could leave the Knight’s forces together if he wanted, go get their revenge on the Joker together and go back home. But she was also intimidated by him. He was different than she’d imagined he’d be. She couldn’t blame him for the way he got a suspicious look in his eyes when he looked at her sometimes, especially not after she revealed the Joker had branded them both. It  _ was _ awfully coincidental if one didn’t know that the Joker had done it to them both to hurt Batman.

But despite her frustratingly mixed emotions, she knew she couldn’t tell him who she really was. There was too much at risk. He might be angry and resentful towards her for replacing him as Robin after his death, even though it’d been a bit over a year after when she took up the mask and cape. He might be angry at Bruce. He might not remember Bruce, if the Joker brainwashed him enough, he might have… She couldn’t even imagine.

She needed to get him to trust her. She knew he would either have a harder or easier time trusting her after their little training-and-bonding session. But she had to keep trying.

She was inside an ice cream shop, getting some sweets to take back to eat in her room later, when she overheard the couple behind her in line discussing something that caught her ear.

“.. and when it arrived, it was champagne, not blush,” one woman was saying, sounding very dramatically. “Can you believe it? Champagne won’t match any of the three inch heels I have. Ugh. So I had to send it back and pay an extra twenty dollars to make sure the blush coloured dress comes in  _ before _ the gala this weekend.”

“Maybe you should have kept the champagne,” the second woman said. “Bruce Wayne is known for having a thing for blondes, and champagne always looks good on blondes. Besides, champagne would  _ totally  _ go with the black Gucci pumps you got last weekend.”

Kat froze and forced herself not to look back at the women. Bruce Wayne? At a gala? Not likely unless it was one of his. Wait…

As she was checking out, she asked the cashier for the date, only to realize by their answer that the gala the women were referring to had to be his annual charity gala for raising money for the boys’ homes in Gotham. If the gala was this weekend, then that meant that Alfred would already be double and triple checking the catering and the decorating crews and making sure Bruce’s suit would be ready on time and--  _ That’s it!!! _

She thanked the cashier and grabbed her bag, running out of the shop and turning right, storming through the people as she made her way down the familiar streets.

Every year, Bruce had a new suit made for this gala. Apparently, Dick had started the tradition when he suggested Bruce start donating to the orphanages and boys’ homes in the city. Bruce had too many suits for Kat to even care about trying to count, but Dick wanted their suits to have something special to match, so they each had a new suit made for the gala. They did it every year and even included Jason during the years the three of them went together. When Kat joined the family, Alfred suggested to Bruce that the tradition continue with her, even though Dick didn’t include himself for the year prior since his relationship with Bruce had become strained after Jason’s death.

Kat skidded to a stop a few blocks away, suddenly remembering there could be agents from the Knight watching her still. She went inside a few random stores, trying to act like she was in there to browse and not just put up an act. After the third store, it had started to rain. Kat pulled her hood up and quickly popped into the next storefront, hoping it looked like she went in somewhere at random to escape the rain.

The bell dinged over the door as she stepped inside, and a woman called out, “Just a moment!” from a back room in response. Kat took off her glasses and quickly cleaned them from the raindrops from her lenses.

A short, middle aged Vietnamese woman came in from a drawn curtain over a doorway that led to the back of the store where private fittings took place.

“Welcome to Sue’s Tailors, how may I help you today-” the woman started to say, but her face lit up when she saw Kat as the teenager was walking over to her. “Miss Wayne! My, what a pleasure it is to see you!”

Kat froze and gaped her mouth open. Oh, fuck. 

“Uh- no, ma’am, I think- I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” she stammered.  _ Real smooth, idiot _ , she thought to herself, biting her tongue.

But Sue just gave her a polite smile and patted her arm. “Oh please, I would recognize Bruce Wayne’s daughter anywhere,” she said with a warm laugh. “Although the short, dark hair did throw me at first- why the change? And new glasses, too? I like the look, sweetheart!”

Katherine gave her a small smile and laughed a little, glancing back at the door. “Thank you Miss Sue,” she said, looking back at the seamstress. “I needed new prescriptions, so I got some new frames. And the hair is because- well-” she leaned forward and did a sort of stage whisper, lifting her hand to the side of her mouth. “There’s this ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, and they’re both nuts. I dyed my hair and cut it to kind of, you know, start fresh I guess. But they keep following me around everywhere. I got a restraining order, but you know how those kinds of people can be, you know what I mean?” She hoped the nervousness she couldn’t shake from her face and voice would convince Sue even more to believe her lie. Hopefully this way, if a male or female agent happened to follow her in, this story would cover her tracks pretty well.

Sue widened her eyes with an understanding, “Ahhh, I see,” and she pulled Katherine down with one hand on her arm so she could pat Katherine’s cheek with her other hand. “Don’t you worry, hon, no one’ll bother you in Sue’s house!”

Kat laughed a little and adjusted her glasses as Sue released her. “Thank you ma’am, I really appreciate it.”

“So what brings you in, Miss Wayne?” Sue asked, walking back to the desk with the register and pulling out her order form binder. “Mr. Pennyworth dropped off the order for your father’s suit for the gala this weekend last week, but the order for your dress wasn’t included. Have you brought something in for it?”

“No, ma’am, actually I can’t go this year. I’ve got a trip planned with some friends; it’s a very late graduation celebratory trip for them, and I’m just tagging along for fun,” Kat said, following her to the desk. “Some people had family trips and stuff right after their graduation ceremony, so we planned it for now, and it just happened to overlap with the gala date.”

“I see! It’s nice that your fancy high school graduate friends will let their sophomore friend tag along! Or are you a junior now? Where are you kids going?” Sue asked, giving her an excited smile.

“Yeah, I start my junior year in the fall. And we’re taking a road trip,” Kat said, trying to look equally as excited. “Driving down the east coast and doing fun tourist things, hitting the beaches, enjoying life before they start college in the fall.”

“That sounds like a good time! I’m glad your father’s letting you do that. But you be safe out there, you never know what kind of weirdos you’ll find at the beaches, especially as you get down south!” 

Kat laughed and nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So what brings you in then, dear?” Sue asked.

“I was actually wondering if you started my dad’s suit yet,” Kat said.

“Of course! It’s nearly done,” Sue said, leaning in and smiling at her. “Would you like to see it?”

Katherine’s eyes lit up and she held her hands together. “Oh yeah- can I??”

“Come on back!” Sue said, walking back to the curtain and waving for Kat to follow. She glanced back at the door once more before following Sue into the back room. 

The seamstress led her into her personal studio where she made special-order clothes, and on the mannequin in the middle of the room was a very handsome suit, plain black with a small violet bird stitched on the front of the pocket. Kat didn’t have to act impressed as she slowly walked over and looked at the suit.

“It’s wonderful,” she said quietly. She flashed Sue a small smile. “As always.”

Sue chuckled and patted her arm. “Glad you think so, dear,” she said, and she brushed her hand over the pocket. “Mr. Pennyworth is the one who requested the purple bird embroidery. Not sure for the meaning behind it, but I think it adds a nice touch.”

Kat simply nodded, feeling a thousand emotions rushing like fire up her throat. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes when Sue wasn’t looking, forcing herself to not start crying here. Sue showed her the inside, lined with purple satin and black and violet pinstripes lined the inside of the vest. It was beautiful, perfect. She knew Bruce would love it.

The bell to the front door rang again. “Oh, that’ll be my last fitting of the night- you’re welcome to keep looking, dear, and if you have anything you’d like me to add, just write it on that notepad on my desk. It was so lovely to see you again,” Sue told her, smiling and squeezing her arm. Kat thanked her again as she left, and once she was gone, she looked to the suit and hugged her arms tight around her torso, biting her lip hard, tasting a bit of blood, feeling a tear roll down her cheek.

She had her mission, and she intended to finish it. But god  _ damn _ did she miss Bruce. She missed her dad. Missed his smiles at her bad jokes, missed his lectures when she did something reckless, missed having dinner with him and Alfred. She missed them both, she missed Ava, she missed her  _ life _ . She’d finally had it good, and then she left it all to try and find a boy she’d never known… a boy she’d always wanted to know and who she thought she had a chance to save.

She’d been selfish to go on this mission. She’d told herself and everyone else it was to save Jason Todd. But now that it was almost two months gone from the life she’d always wanted, she didn’t know what she actually left for. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking. She just knew she needed to live with the consequences and see this through, one way or another.

She rubbed her cheeks and took a deep breath before going over to the pad of paper on Sue’s desk and started writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> what, you didn't forget about the note, did you?


	23. Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> overdose mention

Batman found the thirteenth escapee from Arkham, and it almost killed him.

 

He was patrolling a different area of town when his sensors picked up someone in an alley nearby. He jumped down to a rooftop with the alley in view, and switched his mask to view heat signatures. Sure enough, there was one person in the alley, and they weren’t moving. He took a deep breath before jumping down.

As he approached the figure in the alley, his steps faltered once they came into view. Slumped against the dumpster was someone in the red Arkham jumpsuit and a black hoody pulled over the top. They had longish, wavy black hair that cascaded over their shoulders and covered their face, which seemed to be hung in front of them and pressed against the dumpster. As Batman stepped closer, horror, despair, guilt, and sickness filled his guts and throat. The person, despite their baggy clothes, appeared female. He was terrified to look at her face. She seemed the right height and shapes to be… But she still wasn’t moving. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

_ What if it’s her, _ a part of his brain said.

_ It can’t be, _ another part insisted.  _ She can’t be- This can’t be her. _

He took three deep breaths before crouching down and watching his hand shake as it gently brushed the hair from the person’s face. 

Her face was round but thin, freckles covered her cheeks and forehead, her lips were thick and red with blood on one side. She had a widow’s peak on her hairline. She wasn’t his daughter. She wasn’t Kat.

He was so relieved, he almost fell over. He didn’t know what deity he was thanking under his breath, he just knew he needed to thank someone- something- that this wasn’t his daughter. He felt for her pulse, but there was nothing there. A few pill bottles were in her pockets, and he spotted a dirty syringe on the ground by her thigh. Overdose. At least she wasn’t dead at the hands of the Joker, but Bruce still hung his head with a sigh for the tragedy either way.

He alerted the GCPD of her, and didn’t leave until he heard their sirens nearing the alley.

He didn’t sleep that night.

 

The next day, Alfred noted his exhaustion as he brought tea while Bruce was getting ready.

“I found another escapee last night,” he told Alfred quietly. “Young girl, dark hair, dead. But, thankfully, not  _ our _ girl.” 

Alfred sighed with relief. “Thank heavens…”

“Her name was Eileen Lewis. Not certified insane, and not a victim of the Joker,” Bruce said, sighing gratefully at the strong tea once he took a sip.

“That means the other escapees have been coming from somewhere else, then,” Alfred said, quirking an eyebrow.

“Somewhere else,” Bruce said carefully. “Or from some _ one _ else.”

He tried to brainstorm as he drove, but he didn’t have nearly enough information to even begin to guess where the second group of non-Joker influenced escapees were coming from. 

The bell dinged as he walked into Sue’s Tailors seamstress shop, and the short Vietnamese woman greeted him gladly as he walked in.

“Wonderful, Mr. Wayne! Right on time, as always,” she said in her usual chipper tone. “Right this way, it’s all ready for you!”

She led him back into the fitting room, and his eyes widened at the fresh black suit on the mannequin. “You’ve done it again, Sue,” he said with a charming smile.

“Those words are music to my ears, Mr. Wayne,” she said, handing him the pants, shirt, and vest for the suit. “Put those on while I grab my book!”

He did as she said, and everything fit perfect. He loved the charming purple and black pinstripes lining the vest, and smiled at Sue when she returned. “You’ve outdone yourself this year, my fine lady. The purple was a good choice.”

“Special request by Mr. Pennyworth,” she told him, a twinkle in her eyes as she brought the coat over and helped him slip it on. “As was the bird embroidery on the pocket. A simple touch, but I think it perfects it.”

Bruce looked down once he had the coat on, and saw, sure enough, a small, purple bird stitched on the pocket. As if his heart wasn’t aching enough… Still, he’d have to thank the butler later. 

Bruce tried to focus on the suit itself as he looked in the mirror.

“How’s it feeling, Mr. Wayne?” Sue asked, getting her pins and chalk ready.

“The pants are a smidge long,” he said. “Everything up top feels perfect.”

“Wonderful,” she said, sitting on the platform and beginning to mark on the legs to fix the hem. “Oh! Your daughter came in the other day. I love her new look!”

Bruce froze. He felt his heart skip a couple beats. He turned his head to look at the woman by his feet, and he heard his voice say, “You what?”

“Yes, Katherine came in for a spot to say hello! Two days ago, it was about an hour before close, the night it rained,” she said as she worked. 

Bruce could have passed out. “You- You recognized her with the new hair colour, did you?” he forced out, trying to sound as if he wasn’t actively reminding himself to breathe and stay still and not grab the seamstress by her shoulders and force her to tell him exactly what she was talking about.

“Oh, of course. It was chopped to about her shoulders and dark as yours, Mr. Wayne! New glasses as well, but I told her I’d know that face and figure of hers anywhere!”

_ Hopefully you’re the only one, _ he thought to himself, but he made himself laugh. “Yes, she’d been talking about switching it up for a while now,” he agreed casually.

“Yes, she told me about the nasty ex-boyfriend and crazy new lady with him who’ve been giving her trouble. Even tried to pretend she wasn’t herself at first,” Sue said. “Find it hard to believe anyone would give Bruce Wayne’s daughter a hard time, but there’s nutjobs everywhere!”

“Right, right, yes, the.. Ex-boyfriend,” Bruce said. Kat must have come up with something to explain why she’d try to insist she wasn’t Katherine Wayne. Maybe the ex-boyfriend and girlfriend were people behind the reason she hadn’t come home. Maybe she didn’t think it was safe to come home because these two people were after her. He had no idea what she was thinking since her father was literally Batman, although maybe that’s why it wasn’t safe? Maybe there was something much bigger going on that he couldn’t even imagine. “So, um, how did she seem to you, then?” he asked casually. “She’s been a big frazzled lately about the ex-boyfriend business, and I’ve been worried about her.”

“You should make sure that girl is still eating properly,” Sue told him with a pat on his leg. “She was much skinnier than when she came in to be fitted for her birthday party. Looked like she hadn’t slept in a week, too. But she kept that pretty little smile that warms your heart.”

Bruce fought to keep his composure. “Yes, yes I’ll make sure she’s getting the sleep and such she needs,” he said. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks.”

“I don’t doubt it. Although hopefully the road trip will give her a much needed break!”

“Road trip?” Bruce asked, glancing down.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Mr. Wayne! She’ll be leaving tomorrow, won’t she?” Sue said, giving him a disapproving look. “The one she’s tagging along with her friends, she said as a graduation trip!”

“Oh! Oh, yes, yes, of course,” Bruce said quickly. “No, of course I hadn’t forgotten- it just slipped my mind for the moment. Lots of planning for the gala, plenty of meetings at work, it all fights for space at the front of my brain, you know?” He laughed and hoped it didn’t sound nervous. Normally he’d be able to just go with the flow, agree with the lies as they came, but just the fact of knowing Katherine was…  _ alive _ … It was all that was going through his head.

“Don’t let any of that nonsense let you neglect your daughter,” Sue scolded him. “You know how teenagers are, these days- let them out of your sight for one minute, next thing you know, they’re all grown up and leaving the nest.”

Bruce chuckled and nodded, stepping off the platform when Sue gestured for him to.

“That should do for now, then, Mr. Wayne,” Sue said as she wrote a few numbers down in her book. She gave him a smile and said, “You can place the clothes on the bench once you change, and I’ll have everything ready Friday afternoon for you.”   
  
“Thank you again, Sue, for everything. The suit is magnificent,” he told her, taking her hand in his and giving her a warm smile. “And thank you for the update on my daughter.” He wished he could say with words how much it meant to him to hear she was alive. Sue would never know.

The seamstress patted his hands and nodded with her smile. “Of course, Mr. Wayne.” She lifted the hand and pointed in his face. “Now don’t you forget what I said! Do as much with that girl as you can while you’re both still young. Don’t you let her slip away from you!”

_ I already thought I had, _ that part of his brain said, but he shoved it back and nodded earnestly, thanking the woman again as she left him alone in the room.

Once she was gone, he lifted his trembling hands to his face and sat down on the bench, trying to absorb everything he’d just learned.

His daughter was alive. She seemed mostly well to Sue. That was good. But she was also in danger from someone, or some people. She could be running from them. She could be-

He’d moved his arm down, dropping it into his lap, and he heard a strange crinkle noise. He looked around and then looked in his lap at his arm. He slowly raised it, moving it around slowly until he heard it again. It was… coming from inside the suit?

His hands went to the pockets, checking the one out front first before patting the inside pockets and-

His hand slowly pulled a folded piece of paper out of the left inside pocket, where he would have kept his phone if he was wearing it during the event, as he always did. That girl, that clever girl.

He realized his fingers were still trembling as he examined the piece of paper. It was folded into quarters, and when he flipped it around to look at the back, scrawled in blue ink in familiar handwriting said:  _ DAD- hey, i’m not dead <3 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> sue is everyone's hero tbh. actually this entire fic is about her. after this chapter we enter a slice-of-life style day-to-day series of forty chapters revolving around a simple seamstress and her shih tzu


	24. Twenty-Three

“I want her in the field.”

“Already? But, sir, the other recruits aren’t even close to being ready yet-”

“I didn’t say anything about the other recruits. I said I want _her_. In the field. Tomorrow’s mission. Send her to firearms training all day today.”

Agent Howard nodded, making notes on his tablet before turning and taking his leave.

The Arkham Knight crossed his arms and looked at the plans for the weapons trade for the next evening. The Joker was scheduled to be there. This would be a test to see how she handled what would most likely turn into a shit-show at the end. He knew one way or another, Batman would show up. He always did when the Joker was supposed to be around, and half the time, it was because the Joker tipped him off.

So they would see how Charlotte Parker did against the forces that led to her being locked away in Arkham Asylum and eventually recruited into his own forces. If she was as smart as she seemed, this would be interesting.

 

\---

 

Ava was one foot in the door as she said, “How do you know for sure?”

Bruce waited until she had fully entered the room and approaching the desk before he responded to her. “She left me a note,” he said simply. He sat against the desk in his study, Alfred off to the side, Ava now standing firmly in front of the desk to his right.

“You know I’m going to demand every detail, so you may as well just say it all at once,” Ava said, her voice tired and energetic at the same time.

Bruce’s lips twitched in a smirk, and he lifted up the, now unfolded, piece of paper off his desk. “I went to the seamstress who tailors suits for me, and she told me Kat came by the other day to see the suit being made for my charity gala this weekend. Then when I was trying the suit on, I heard a rustle in the pockets and found this note in the left inside pocket,” he explained.

“The only pocket on the jacket you actually use. She knew you would reach into it at some point,” Alfred said fondly.

“How do you know she really wrote it? Or that she didn’t write it against her will?” Ava said skeptically.

“The fact that she put it in that pocket specifically lets me know it was really her,” Bruce said firmly. “And I know no one forced her to write it because of what’s in the note as well as the fact that, when the seamstress asked about her black hair and new glasses, Kat told her that there was an ex-boyfriend with a new girlfriend or something that had been stalking her. She told the seamstress that she changed her appearance to protect herself, to not let anyone know she was there.”

Ava stared at him and then the note. “Fine. What does it say?”

Bruce took a deep breath and looked inside the note for the fiftieth or so time since he’d read it the first time. He was going to read it out loud, but his voice failed as soon as he read his name. He sighed and just handed the note over to Ava, who gave him a cautious look as she eagerly took the paper.

“It says, _“Bruce, first, I’m so sorry you’ve probably been wondering if I’m dead in a ditch somewhere for the last fifteen days. The Joker was never at Arkham, but the Arkham Knight had people inside, evaluating patients to recruit for his, what I have determined to be a, fancy gang. He also sent a bunch of the real crazies to the Joker because, yeah, he is super working with that freak. So basically I got nabbed by AK and (please don’t be too mad) joined his fancy gang. I can’t tell you where their base is or what their plans are because one, you would def come and blow my cover, and two, I don’t know any plans yet. Trying to get in close with AK currently, but it wasn’t all for nothing because I found Jason Todd. He’s alive, we talked some. Joker faked his death and tortured him for a long time. He also branded Jason, so I guess we’re twins now._

_“Please tell Ava and Alfred I’m sorry for making them worry. I’m sorry I couldn’t- I’m sorry I_ didn’t _come home, and I hope you all don’t hate me for it. I don’t know how much longer it’ll take for me to wreck AK and the Joker. I don’t know how I’ll contact you again. Please don’t keep looking for me. I’m safer now than I was in Arkham._

_“I’m running out of space on the paper. I wish I could tell you this all in person. I’m sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I love you.”_ Then she signed it and wrote a P.S. at the bottom saying, “ _Also no one is holding me hostage, and I’m writing this of my own will in Sue’s workroom. Tell Ava to keep her conclusion-jumping-feet on the ground.”_ And she drew a little heart at the bottom.”

Ava put the note down, audibly trying to even her breath. Her eyes were watering as they furiously reread the words, scanning it as if to pick out some other proof that Kat wrote it.

Bruce realized his hands were shaking. He hadn’t read the letter out loud, hadn’t heard the words Kat wrote out loud, and it shook him to his core. He could almost hear her voice in his head reciting the words from the letter, but he felt a pang of fear as a part of his mind wondered if he _did_ remember what her voice sounded like. As he raised his hand to rub tears out of his eyes, he saw Alfred in his peripheral vision doing the same thing.

“Fuck,” Ava muttered, and Bruce saw tears streaming down her cheeks. “She really did write this, didn’t she? That bitch is alive out there, _choosing_ not to come home. I’m gonna fuckin’ kill her, then revive her and hug her so hard it’ll kill her again.” She sniffled and handed the note back to Bruce, slumping down in the chair and putting her head in her hands.

“She has always been frustratingly determined when it comes to missions,” Alfred said quietly. “However, she said she’s safe. We will have to take her word for it for now, and be grateful.”

Bruce looked at the note again. His eyes traced her letters. Days ago, she’d held this paper in her hands, folded it up, and put it in the jacket for him to find. They’d been so close. If he had come in for a fitting two days earlier…

No, he couldn’t fool himself like that. Alfred was right. She was determined to finish her mission. If he’d showed up while she’d been there, she might have run or broken down or who knows what. He couldn’t spend his energy thinking about what could have happened; he needed to think about what he could do right now.

“What I’ve pieced together is this,” Bruce said, setting the note down and watching Ava as she gave him a tired look with pink-tinged eyes. “She’s working with the agents of the Arkham Knight, and because she told Sue that she changed her appearance because people were stalking her, I think that means the agents of the Knight are watching her every move, and she knows it. She didn’t say anything about anyone being suspicious of her true identity, so she must not think her cover is in danger.”

“Do you think she told Jason Todd who she really is?” Ava asked.

Bruce hesitated. “I considered it, but no, I don’t think so. She would wait until she was sure she could control whatever happened after telling him who she is, and if she thinks that the Knight and his agents are watching her every move, she won’t trust anyone until she’s dealt with that issue first.”

Ava crossed her arms. The room was quiet for a moment. “She told us not to look for her anymore. How can she expect us to just… stop trying to find her??”

“We have to,” Bruce said, turning and facing the bookshelf lining the back wall. “If we keep searching and find her, we might blow her cover. We might put her in more danger.” He paused and turned back to face Ava and Alfred. “We have to wait for her to make the next move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> bit of an emo chapter, and definitely setting up some big good action to come soon!!


	25. Twenty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> self harm mention, suicide mention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> douglass's name has _ass_ in it for a reason, lmao

“Firearms training?” Kat asked, looking at the papers in her hands. 

“The Arkham Knight requested you be on tomorrow night’s field team,” Agent Douglass said, clearly not happy about the arrangement. Kat couldn’t imagine why, unless it was because she was still so new or something.

“The Knight requested me?” she repeated, genuinely confused. “What for?”

“Been asking myself the same question,” Douglass said plainly. Okay then. 

He led her into the shooting range room. She’d only passed it a few times before, but once inside, she looked around, impressed by the soundproofing and array of guns on the back wall. There were five separate stalls for training, and between the stalls and the back wall was a table where none other than Jason Todd stood, laying out a few different handguns.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said to him as Douglass took her over to the table. 

He looked up and smirked at her. “Small bunker,” he said simply. 

“Don’t tell me you’re training in here too, today,” she said, returning a smirk. 

Douglass scoffed as he scribbled on a paper on his clipboard. “Actually, I’m leading your training,” Jason told her casually.

“Oh,” Kat said, looking at all the guns. Cool.

“He’s the best we have,” Douglass said with a sigh, mumbling an extra, “Unfortunately.”

Jason just smirked again and went back to the guns on the table.

“Before we begin, we have to make sure you’re able to handle the task and responsibility of operating firearms,” Douglass said, his tone sounding just as bored as ever. 

“What, I have to do a test or something?” Kat asked.

“Well, since you  _ did _ come from Arkham, and since you were there for suicide tendencies and on active suicide watch,” Douglass said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her.

“Oh.” She looked away from Douglass’s face and to the clipboard. She hadn’t even thought about that. She guessed it made sense.

“Your file from Arkham has several examples of attempts at suicide, plus the physical evidence-” Douglass paused and reached over towards her with his pen, tapping the inside of her arm twice gently. She looked down as he did and tried to ignore the uncomfortable burning in her cheeks. She usually didn’t get embarrassed when people pointed out her scars from those times in her life. Something about the way Douglass was speaking to her and looking at her though… He must have been one of those people who thought bad about people who were or had been suicidal.

“You want to make sure I’m not going to shoot myself?” Kat asked plainly. “I could kill myself a thousand other ways, and you’re worried I’m gonna kill myself with a gun?”

“A dead soldier is a useless soldier,” Douglass shot back evenly, looking back at his clipboard. “When was the last time you were suicidal?”

Kat absently rubbed her arm where his pen had touched her. She also felt uncomfortable with Jason in the room. She wasn’t sure why. “Not since I’ve been here.”

“That doesn’t sufficiently answer my question.”

“Look, man,” Kat snapped. “Sometimes I just wanna kill myself, I don’t get to decide when it happens, it just does. Last time I actually thought about it in any way that even mattered was in Arkham sometime, probably after they’d drugged me and stuff. Does that  _ sufficiently answer your question? _ ”

She heard Jason breathe out a short laugh, but she kept her eyes on Douglass, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

The man gave her a look and then turned back to his clipboard, writing something and saying, “Yes.” He scribbled something and gave her another look. “Have you ever used firearms before?”

“I know how to shoot a gun.”

“That doesn't-”

“Yes, I’ve used firearms before, just not in a fight.”

Douglass hummed a moment, writing down more than Katherine felt was probably necessary. She was about to snap at him again when he looked at her and held the clipboard to his side.

“Good luck, Todd,” Douglass said. “You're probably going to need it.” And with that, the agent turned and left the room, leaving Katherine alone with Jason and at least twenty guns.

“How many sticks does that guy have up his butt?” she asked, turning to look at Jason and pointing at the door behind her with her thumb. 

Jason chuckled and glanced up at her. “A lot.” He waved for her to move over to him, so she did. “He’s just mad he isn't leading the group on tomorrow’s mission. It's an insult to him that you have been moved up so quickly.”

“He can bite me,” Kat muttered, moving to stand next to Jason. “So, uh. Lots of handguns here.” She looked around at them all. “And they're all taken apart.”

“Mhmm. How fast can you put them back together?” Jason asked, looking at her with his arms crossed. 

She looked up at him. “Wait, seriously?”

“That an issue?”

She looked back at the guns. Bruce had taught her guns ages ago. They did refresher runs at least once a month. Of course he'd taught her the anatomy of a gun. You could never be too prepared. 

“No,” she said, looking back down. “You want ‘em loaded or unloaded?”

It took her a bit to reassemble the guns the first time, almost twice as long as it should have simply because she hadn’t done it in so long, but after three rounds of stripping and reassembling the guns, she was moving at about forty to forty-five seconds a gun. Jason didn't say a word the entire time she worked other than to tell her to do it again.

She lost count of what number it was when she finished reassembling them, and Jason said, “Again,” for the fifteen millionth time. She exhaled through her nose and started again.

This time, as soon as she finished the first gun, he picked it up and examined it. 

She hardly noticed him since she was trying to keep up with her thirty-three second run streak, but she heard him say, “Sure hope you did this right.” Half a second later, a gunshot fired right behind her. She flinched hard, goosebumps spread across her skin, the hair on the back of her neck stood up- but somehow her hands kept moving. She dropped a piece when she flinched, but ten seconds later, the gun was fully assembled and set down in the place of the one Jason had picked up.

He hummed behind her as she continued to the next one, picking up the next gun and firing five shots. This cycle of him testing the guns as she stripped and rebuilt them continued until she went through all the guns. 

“Again,” he said. “But start with this one.” He handed her the one he’d just fired.

Her first thought went to the fact that she  _ literally _ just rebuilt that one, but when she started taking it apart, she realized the reason he wanted her to start with that gun was probably because it was hot. He was really trying to test her limit. They'd been going nonstop for at least two and a half hours, and she hadn’t muttered a peep of a complaint. Then distracting her by shooting while she worked. Now he wanted her to work with a gun that was still smoking. 

But she didn't say anything, just tightened her ponytail and took it, starting to disassemble it. She definitely noted how toasty it was as she worked, but she was able to keep her face and composure neutral. She sent Bruce a million silent thanks for teaching and grilling her on how to keep composure in situations that really suck. She was halfway through putting it back together when he spoke up, closer to her than she expected.

“Don't your hands hurt? That one was pretty warm,” he said casually.

“Doesn’t really have time to hurt if you're fast enough,” she said, her voice quieter than normal as she focused on her hands. She probably didn't even need to focus anymore; she'd done this so many times now, she could probably do it blindfolded. She wasn't about to give him any ideas though. 

“Hm. Good point.” He shot the next gun as she set down the reassembled one and handed it to her, still smoking. “Shoot this one at the red target once you're done.”

“Oookay,” she said, doing as he said. Once she was finishing, he shot the next gun. She raised her right arm straight out, glancing at the target and firing, hearing the bullet hit the target, passing the gun to Jason with her left hand, and then picking up the one he’d just fired. 

“Wait, wait,” he said, placing his hand on hers that held the new gun. “Did you hit your target?”

“Yes,” she said, looking up at him. 

“Check the target. How do you know? You didn't even look after you fired.”

She sighed, turning her head. “I hit it. I felt it,” she said, but she looked at the target anyway. And then she realized she couldn't see the target well enough because she, a dummy, didn't have her glasses on. “Uhh…”

“What?” He stepped to her other side and looked at the target.

“I, uh. This is embarrassing,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck, noticing how warm her fingers were. “I can't see if I hit it or not. I forgot my glasses.”

Jason slowly turned his head to look at her. “You… forgot your glasses?”

“Uh.” Kat felt her face heat up. “Yes.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, closed it, and held up his hands together in front of his mouth. He moved in front of her and looked at her. “Let me get this straight. You've been stripping and assembling these guns for three hours, I told you to shoot it, so you did, hardly looked when you did it, saying you  _ felt _ that you hit the target, and went to keep going, and you've done all this without your  _ glasses _ ..?”

“Well- yeah, but I don't need them to- I just use them to see far away usually, uh-” 

Jason cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away from the table. He pulled her around the booths into the range and walked her until her back was at the booth and moved behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and slowly started walking her down the line towards the targets. “Stop when you can see,” he told her.

As soon as the target was clear, she stopped. 

The bullet hole was… right through the head.

Damn. “Damn.” 

“Damn is right,” Jason said, moving in front of her, looking at the target and the back to her. “You're not comfortable with guns, are you? Not used to them, but you know how to build them, know how they work.”

“What makes you say that?” she asked, squinting a little.

His lips twitched into a smirk. “You twitch every time I shoot. Even when you shot.”

Did she really? Damnit. “Is that a problem?” she asked carefully. 

“That's a good question,” he said, leaning toward her a little. “Is it a problem?”

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m used to being around guns, just not so much using them in action. Me twitching is just- I dunno, man, I’ve been shot at before a lot. Do you have a problem?”

He gave her a strange look. “No,” he said finally. “As long as you’re consistently accurate and you won't freeze up in the field.”

“I don't freeze up.”

He shrugged a little. “If you say so.” He turned and headed back into the main area. “Go get your glasses, we’re going to start shooting, and I need you as accurate as possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> so, i did do a bit of research about stripping and reassembling guns when writing this, but like. not a ton? so. stuff like the time it takes to take apart and reassemble the gun i took from some articles I read, but i'm sure there's things i fudged at the time because this is a kid who has consistent arms training with batman and it's my au and superheroes so. it's whatever lmao.
> 
> also i did start writing this in February, so like. i don't remember my trains of thoughts from when i was writing and have no idea what i researched or anything. i'm just doing my best over here ok
> 
> also i know handling the hot bits of a smoking gun is like. hot. but she's moving fast, and i have a personal high tolerance for heat and put that into this character so. beep beep beep that's what's up


	26. Twenty-Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's a lil rough, yall

Dick was walking through the shopping district. He had no reason to. He just needed to be somewhere other than his apartment, because when he was there, all his did was sit in the quiet and simmer in his anger. At least in public, he could walk in the crowds while his frustration crawled under his skin. 

He couldn't help but blame Bruce  _ again _ . Kat was missing, and he’d allowed her to go  _ undercover _ in  _ Arkham fucking Asylum _ … He always hated when people said it about him, but she was just a kid. And he’d let her go to a torture house for a mission… A mission that was becoming eerily too familiar. 

When Jason disappeared, he and Bruce looked endlessly for him, tirelessly for him. And then the Joker sent them that fucking video. He watched his little brother die on camera. He was not going to do that with another Robin.. with Katherine.

She had only been Robin a little over a year now, but she was as much a part of this horrible family as Jason had been, as he was. Despite the actual legal adoption making her part of the family, she had found a place with them in an entirely more meaningful way, taking up his and Jason’s legacy as Robin. But he would be damned if she was going to have her life stolen from her like Jason did. 

How could Bruce do this? How could he endanger his daughter's life so- so  _ easily?! _

_ Calm down _ , he told himself. That wasn't fair. He knew it hadn't been easy. He knew how Kat was.

Fuck, that made it even _ worse _ . Especially because Dick could see Jason doing the same goddamn thing. Risking his life a thousand different ways to save someone he cared about. Dick knew Kat had always looked up to Jason. Maybe she thought she would prove something to him and Bruce, to herself, if she managed to bring her predecessor home. 

He had no idea. He may never know. 

His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and scoffed. Bruce was calling. He didn't want to talk to his father right now. 

_ He might have news about Kat _ , a part of his brain told him. 

_ Then he can text me, _ the rest of his mind said firmly.

Dick didn't know when he’d wandered into a department store. He sighed. He looked around at the signs but couldn't tell which store it was. He just continued his angry walking. 

But then he heard something. He snapped his head to the side, seeing some people moving through the women's formal department. He figured he was hallucinating, but it almost sounded like-

Two girls moved from behind a rack of dresses. One of them was facing him; she was tall, at least his height, and she had long red hair, draped over one shoulder as she talked excitedly while holding a dress on a hanger. The other girl had her back to him, but she turned her head, and he saw her profile for two seconds before she turned it back to look at the redhead. But two seconds had been enough.

_ Kat. _

It was her, holy shit. He knew it was. He knew her face anywhere, any angle. Her hair was much shorter than it had been in the photo Ava showed him, but it was still that same, cute, curly-wavy hair, just black with some of her roots starting to show. 

He wanted to barge over there. He wanted to run and grab her in his arms and never let her go ever again. 

But he remembered that Bruce said she could be in danger, she could be under surveillance. He quickly moved and hid behind a rack, watching her closely. 

She idly followed the redhead to a few more racks as the girl collected four or so dresses in her arms. He could just barely hear them, and the quiet sound of Katherine’s voice made his heart ache. 

His phone rang, and he quickly ducked, looking at it and silencing the ringer. Bruce again. Whatever he had to say could wait. 

He looked up from the rack, and his heart skipped a beat; Kat and the redhead were gone. If he had lost her again… god  _ damnit _ .

It took him a couple minutes of walking around the two adjacent women's departments before he saw Kat standing outside a fitting room. His legs moved before he could come up with a plan, and he stopped and hid behind another rack, peering through the clothes at her. She was idly doodling on what looked like a receipt with a pen as she stood outside the dressing rooms. Whoever she was with must be trying her clothes on.

He had to go talk to her. He had to try. What did Bruce say her fake name was? Cheryl? Charlotte, that was it.

He took a deep breath and walked over. Her hair was hanging over her face, hiding it from where he stood. He stopped when he was a few feet away.

“Charlotte?” he said carefully, keeping his tone low.

She looked up at him right away. Her eyes widened for a second, and she opened her mouth a little.

He didn't know why she was giving him that look, but he didn't care.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, rushing forward the last few feet and throwing his arms around her, hugging her tight and lifting her off the ground a little. He felt her hands lightly pat his back twice before falling. Why didn't she hug him back? “Oh my god, it's you, holy shit-”

“Can I, uh, d-do you know me?” her voice said, and he froze, his blood turning to solid ice. He slowly released her from the hug and stepped back, keeping his hands firmly on her biceps. She was looking at him with a bit of a worried expression. 

“What?” he asked weakly. No… no no no  _ no _ … 

“I, uh-” Kat said, tense in his hold. She looked at his face, but not into his eyes. “Have- I think you got the wrong person,” she told him carefully. She lifted a hand and gently pushed one of his hands off her arm. 

“K- Kat,” he whispered, glancing behind her to make sure they were still alone before looking back into her eyes. “ _ Katherine please _ … It's me, Dick, you  _ know  _ me.”

She shook her head. Her face looked confused and a little worried, but her eyes… he could see she was lying. She recognized him. She was lying. She had to be lying.

“You have me confused for someone else. We haven't met before.” She gently removed his other hand from her arm, and suddenly he wasn’t touching her anymore; panic started rising faster. Had those bastards at Arkham done… something to- had they hurt her mind? Affected her memory? He didn't know if he was breathing anymore or not. 

“No,” he said firmly. “Look at me, you  _ know _ me-” He gently put his hands on her cheeks and leaned down a little, desperately making eye contact with her.

“I- I don't- you really shouldn't-” she stammered, placing a trembling hand on his wrist and pushing one hand down.

“ _ Please _ ,” he begged, his voice not any louder than a whisper.

“Char, I don't think any of these are- hey, who are you? Get your hands off her!” The redhead had come out of the dressing room and was marching up to them.

“Christina, it's alright, it's alright!” Kat said quickly, pulling Dick’s other hand off her face quickly. She let her hand linger against his longer than she needed to once their arms were down.

Dick looked at the redhead again now that she was closer. She really was about as tall as he was. She was thin, but he could tell she was probably stronger than she looked by the definition in her biceps and deltoids, visible thanks to the strapless dress she had on. 

“You sure?” Christina asked Kat. She turned to Dick and gave him a dirty look. “I could get you on the ground with three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder in four seconds,” she threatened. “Were you messing with her?”

“Christina, please-” Kat tried again.

“She could fracture your tibia and have you in a choke hold before you could even  _ try _ putting your hands near her again,” Christina continued.

“Whoa, whoa, sorry, I just- I wasn’t trying to- I was just-” he stammered, lifting his hands defensively. What was he supposed to say?  _ I was coming over here to hug my sister who has been missing for two months, but now she might not know who I am? _ Yeah right. 

“Christina, honestly, it's okay,” Kat insisted, moving a bit between her and Dick and giving the redhead a reassuring smile that made his heart fracture again. “We went to school together, we were just kind of catching up.” 

Dick fought to keep confusion off his face. She was lying to this girl; Kat had just told him to his face that she didn't know him, didn't  _ remember _ him… Had she been lying to him, or was she lying to this girl? 

Regardless, Kat turned and gave him a small smile and held out his phone to him- wait, when had she taken his phone? He’d been so wrapped up in the girl threatening him and his confusion that she must have done it while nobody was looking at her.

“I don't have a working phone at the moment, but I put in that coffee shop in your calendar for next week,” she told him smoothly, as if they had really just had a conversation about going out for coffee. “How's six o’clock?” 

Her smile made it hard to respond, but he swallowed and nodded, smiling back and taking his phone. “Six sounds good, Charlotte.” It was hard to say that name while looking at her face. He honestly couldn't tell at this point where the lies stopped and started. He didn't know if she knew her real first name. He didn't know if she remembered him. 

“See you next week, John,” she said to him as Christina muttered to her and pulled her into the dressing rooms.

He almost started to think about going in after her when he realized what she'd called him-  _ John _ . He'd told her his name, called himself Dick. So why had she…

He quickly unlocked his phone, and he had to slump against the wall next to him for support as he read the words on the open notepad app.

 

_ West 67th ave. tomorrow night, 11pm. bring the tights. _

_ i’m sorry. _

 

He forced himself to take several deep breaths, reading over the words three more times. She'd called him John, his middle name, his father's name. She  _ must _ have been lying. She remembered him. Something was wrong. 

His phone rang again. Bruce was calling, and this time, Dick answered it.

“Bruce? Something’s wrong-”

_ “Dick, there's something you need to see.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> this one hurts every time


	27. Twenty-Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> self harm, very low and depressed state of mind, i.e. depression lmao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's real rough

Katherine half hoped Dick was still outside the fitting room when she and Christina, her not-escort, finally came outside. Agent Howard had suggested she go out for the evening with someone, relax after a long day of intense firearms and combat training with Jason Todd. Christina Walker had been nearby and offered to bring Kat along while she went shopping for a dress to her cousin’s wedding. Because Kat couldn’t really say no at that point, she’d gone along.

The last thing she’d expected or wanted was to run into Dick. 

He’d said her name, and when she’d looked up and seen him… She panicked. She almost started crying right then and there. She and Dick hadn’t started out as friends when she snuck into the Bat-Cave by accident and ended up getting a trial run as Robin, but after training with him for a few months on how to  _ be _ Robin, they’d grown closer. He became an older brother to her, someone she found herself loving almost more than anyone else in the world (of course Ava, Bruce, and Alfred being the only exceptions). He’d been busy in Bludhaven when the series of events leading to her working for the Arkham Knight began, and he was probably the one she’d been the most worried about running into when she left the bunker.

Naturally, he was the one who found her first. 

She’d panicked when she saw him. Christina had been right inside the fitting rooms. What if she had been listening? What if she reported to someone that Dick Grayson had approached her and talked to her like they were close? If word got to Jason, it wouldn’t take him long to figure out who she really was. She wanted to trust Jason so  _ badly _ , but she still didn’t have enough information to do so. Her entire cover could be blown by simply hugging Dick or telling him to leave her alone.

So, in her panic, her first response managed to shatter both their hearts in just a few stammered words. “Do- Do you know me?”

He’d been hugging her before she said that. All she’d wanted since that first night in Arkham was to rush back into her dad’s arms, but somehow she’d managed to avoid the equally as painful desire to be held by Dick. Once he had her in his arms, his hands holding her tight, pressing into her hair, his arms lifting her off the ground, his face in her neck, his voice in her ear, she could feel his breath and smell his Axe body wash-

And she’d had to stop him. Her first instinct had been to pretend she didn’t know him. She rolled with it, desperately hoping he would go along, but the panic in his eyes told her that she’d made a mistake. He probably thought she was serious. He probably thought she’d lost her mind in Arkham. He probably thought she had no idea who he was, had no idea how much he loved her.

She made several more weak attempts to shove him off, get him away before Christina came back, but he kept trying to hold her, kept touching her face, he was  _ so close _ -

Her voice broke a few times, she tried to pass it off as nervousness. She didn’t know how she managed not to cry. She thanked her days of steeling herself in front of everyone at Arkham for that, she guessed.

And then Christina had come back and started threatening Dick. Kat swiped his phone as soon as he looked at Christina and opened his notepad, punching in the time and location for the Arkham Knight’s operation the following night as well as a pathetic two-word apology.

When she put up the front that she did know him in front of Christina, thankfully he went with that one, taking his phone back and agreeing to meet her for coffee like she’d put into his phone. He’d given her one more sad look in his eyes before leaving.

And Kat had no idea how she managed to hold in her tears until she got back to her room at the bunker. She locked her door and fell to the floor, pressing against the farthest corner from the door in the room, crying and choking on sobs. She held her head in her hands and slammed it against the wall behind her, nothing but the thoughts of regret and longing and  _ sadness _ echoing endlessly in her mind. She didn’t even realize she’d hurt herself until she moved her hands from where they’d been holding onto her arms for a while and saw blood on her fingertips from the crescents dug and drug into her forearms from where she’d been clutching onto herself so tightly. After she saw the accidental marks, it’d been just so easy to let her nails cut and scratch into the skin of her arms and thighs until the aching pain in her skin managed to compete enough with the pain in her heart to make her get up and wash the blood from her skin. She slumped over the sink in the bathroom, quietly apologizing to everyone she cared about, everyone she’d just failed, and continued cleaning and wrapping up the wounds with medical supplies she’d snagged from the infirmary and stowed away in her room.

She knew she didn’t deserve to fall asleep quickly or the silent, dreamless sleep she had, but she was pathetically grateful for it nonetheless.

 

\---

 

“She must have been trying to protect me from that girl she was with. I could  _ tell _ it was hurting her just as much as it was hurting me. It was just… I had no idea if I was going to have to believe that she didn’t know me or not.”

Dick continued pacing in front of Bruce and Alfred in the Bat-Cave. “We’re going to be there tomorrow night. There must be an operation happening,” Bruce said calmly. “If we are going to work to try and get her out, we have to do it carefully and with any information she gives us.”

“She called me by my middle name so I would  _ know _ she knew me,” Dick muttered, shoving his face into his hands for the upteenth time. “Why didn’t she just  _ start _ with that??”

“Dick,” Bruce said, moving over to his son and putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Dick looked up at him, mixed emotions on his face. “We need to focus on-”

“We need to focus on rescuing her from that maniac!” Dick said. “This has gotten way,  _ way _ out of hand, Bruce! The branding, Arkham, now she’s with the Knight- and on top of all of that-” He grabbed the note she’d written Bruce from the desk and waved it in the air. “She says  _ Jason is alive?! _ It’s been fucking  _ years _ , and she says that Jason is fucking alive and working for the Arkham Knight??”

“Are you finished?” Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

“Uh, I’m not even  _ close _ to being finished!” Dick said angrily. “But please, go on and say whatever you’ve got to say, by all means!”

Bruce put both his hands on Dick’s shoulders firmly. His son didn’t look happy about it, but he didn’t shove him off. “Dick, I need you to listen to me. I know this is bad. I know this is out of hand. If you think I haven’t spent every moment regretting letting her do this since I dropped her off at Arkham, then you are sorely mistaken,” Bruce said, his voice even, a dangerous tone lacing the edge of it. “But she is alive, she is more-or-less well, and she says she has found Jason, also alive and well. And we are going to do every fucking thing we can to get both of them home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> brief but important chapter! hope you're all having a good week so far!!!


	28. Twenty-Seven

Kat felt uncomfortable as she put on her armour. The clothes the agents of the Arkham Knight wore were frustrating compared to her Robin costume. The Kevlar-woven uniforms were fitted and light, breathable, but there was awkward armour on top of it. The steel elbow, shin, and knee guards were built into the uniform, and the breastplate attached magnetically on the chest via high-powered magnets in the shirt.

She looked at herself in one of the many metallic surfaces in the armoury, and she felt sick to her stomach. She didn't have the breastplate on, so the symbol of the Arkham Knight glared at her from the left of her chest. Her Robin symbol should be there. This was the symbol of the man who’d tried to kill her (and technically succeeded for a few minutes, according to Alfred); she felt  _ wrong _ wearing it, plain and simple. 

“You look nervous,” a voice said behind her. Katherine turned and saw Agent Bailey standing to the side behind her.

She gave him a weak smile. “Maybe,” was all she could get herself to say. 

Bailey patted her shoulder and gave her a confident smile. “You got nothing to worry about, kid. You been here two weeks, and you're better than most of the yahoos we’re sending out tonight,” he told her. “You ever been in a real fight before?”

“I guess you don't mean against my family, people in Arkham, or messy thugs on the street?” she asked, rubbing her neck. Bailey shook his head. “Then not really,” she lied, cracking her knuckles idly.

Bailey put his arm around her shoulders and led her back towards where the few others in the room getting ready were congregated. “Don't sweat it. Just be confident in your moves, and try not to get shot. That Kevlar should protect you if you do, but the impact of a bullet still hurts like a bitch.”

_ Yeah, I’m very familiar,  _ Kat thought to herself, remembering that Bailey very well could've been one of the people shooting to kill her only a couple months ago. She forced herself to put that thought away. If she remembered that anyone around her could've been the ones actively trying to kill her, she would have a much harder time trying to be nice and friendly to them.

“Focus, don't get shot. Easy enough,” she said with a nod. “Hey, do I have to wear that breastplate?”

“Have to? No, technically not,” Bailey said, dropping his arm from her shoulder and moving in front of her. “It helps to have extra protection, makes it a lot harder for bullets to pierce your chest, kind of the whole point of it. You don’t want to wear it?”

Kat shook her head. “It’s too heavy for my tastes, and I can’t move around as easily with something weighing on my torso.”

Bailey smirked. “You do move pretty fast and agile, so I suppose it makes sense for you to be as light as possible,” he said. “Sure, leave it if you want, you’ll get no trouble from me. The Knight may ask about it, though.”

“Guess I’ll give him the same reason.”

“Guess so.” Bailey looked around and patted her shoulder once more. “Go on and get your weapons, then, Parker. After that, go to Hangar 5, that’s where the Knight and the rest of the team for tonight will be waiting to go. You’ve got about ten minutes before you’ll be late.”

Kat nodded, waiting until Bailey turned to go tell the others getting suited up what to do, and she left, quietly going to the armoury and taking her special-made silver helmet with her on the way out. (She assumed the point of it being “special made” meant it would compensate for not wearing her glasses, but it was exactly as chrome and Mass Effect-y as everyone else’s.)

The standard for field agents was one auto rifle and a handgun, but all the training she did with Jason had been with pistols and revolvers, so she strapped on the harness to put a gun on each leg, and sighed as she did so. Boy was she sick of guns. 

She was about to leave to the hangar when she peeked into some of the other weapons cabinets and saw some steel and wooden bo staffs in one locker. She wondered if using a staff would give her away or not… God, she wanted to take it so bad. She looked at the guns in her holsters and bounced on her toes, groaning at her indecisiveness. Didn’t she already sacrifice enough to keep her cover? She was using guns for crying out loud! What would it hurt to use a staff instead?

If Jason was on the team tonight, he might recognize her fighting style with the staff. The Knight might recognize it too.

Kat groaned again and shut the locker, letting a string of swears loose as she left the room and ran to the hangar, ready to get the night over with.

Once she was at the hangar, the Knight was already listing off the groups everyone would be in. There were about twenty-five of them total, including the Knight. Kat walked in with two other agents and joined the group. 

“Walker, Biggs, Ruth, you’re with Sargeant Cassidy,” the Arkham Knight announced. People moved around, doing as they were told, but Kat found herself focusing on that annoying, layered, filtered voice the Knight had. God damn, it wasn’t enough that the bastard had gone and killed her a little bit, but now he had her specially requested for his little missions. So now she had to listen to his annoying, teeth-gritting voice for the whole night. Super.

He finished reading off names, told the agents to get positioned in their trucks, and then turned and looked at her. That was when Katherine realized she was the only one left without an assignment.

“Uh oh,” she said, looking back at the Knight. “I’m, uh, supposed to be here, right?”

“Yes,” the Knight said. “Parker, you’re with me.” And he turned and started walking towards one of the trucks. Kat looked around, making sure there wasn’t someone else with the fake name Parker, and jogged after him, slowing when she was behind him and climbing into the passenger seat of the truck he got into.

One of the other trucks took the lead, and once they were on the road, the Knight decided to make small talk.

“You ever fought with guns before? Or just your hands?” he asked without looking at her (which she was grateful for. At least maybe he paid some attention to driving safety).

“Hands, bo staff, knives. Only guns in training,” she responded, tapping her thumbs against her helmet that sat in her lap.

“Tonight shouldn’t come to anything too drastic. But you never know with the Joker,” the Knight said, sounding tired.

Kat snapped her eyes to him. “The Joker is gonna be there?”

“Supposed to.” He glanced at her. “That a problem?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, looking forward again. “That freak is the epitome of a  _ problem _ .”

The Arkham Knight laughed. It was probably more of a chuckle, but through his voice filter, the noise sent goosebumps rising up her arms. “Good point,” he said.

“Why don’t you kill him?” she asked, crossing her arms. “You seem to have as good a shot as any. Unless you prefer working with him, I guess.”

“We don’t work with that freak. On paper, sure, but I steal the cash and revenue from his bullshit robberies and whatever,” the Knight said. “Once I’ve torn down everything he works with and for, you better believe I’m going to roast that psychotic clown and send him to hell.”

“Splendid,” she said with a sigh. “Long as it gets done,” she muttered after a pause.

“How’d he hurt you?” the Knight asked after a brief moment of silence.

“Did my tone give it away?”

“You don’t try to hide your emotions much.”

“Yeah, well,” she said, hearing Batman’s voice echoing similar words in her head. “Never been much good at that.”

“So what’d he do to you? Other than that branding on your chest?” the Knight continued.

“I thought the story everyone agreed on was that Batman gave it to me?” Kat asked, her voice tired since clearly that rouse was up with more people than just Jason.

“Please. Batman wouldn’t do that to a kid. Maybe not to anyone. You need to work on your stories.”

“My stories are super fine, thank you very much,” Kat said, straightening her back. “But… fine. Yeah, the Joker gave it to me.”

“So you want to kill him because he branded you with the Bat symbol?” he asked. “Sounds like you got something personal with Batman.”

“No, I don’t want to kill him because of that. It’s not my place to kill him just cause he branded some shitty brand on me with his shitty reasons. He’s hurt other people worse than me,” she said, her voice slowly turning into a mumble. She took a deep breath before continuing. “Besides, I wish Batman would kill him. If anyone should do it, it should be him. Well. Maybe someone else. But at the end of the day, half the shit the Joker does is because he wants to get to Batman. Whatever, there’s no point in even talking about that, cause it’s never gonna happen. If you kill the Joker after stealing and wrecking his whatever, at least he’ll be dead.”

There was another moment of silence, and Kat started to panic that her little rant had been too much. Her mouth got ahead of her brain, and she really hoped she wasn’t going to pay for it.

“You didn’t respond when I said it sounds like you got something personal with Batman,” the Knight said instead.

Kat blinked and rubbed her head. “I mean, not really. It depends on how you define ‘something personal’. He saved me once. Helped me out.” She shrugged. “Y’know-  _ before _ he dropped me off at Arkham. But I guess I don't really blame him for that.” She felt kind of sick talking about Bruce like that; saying he “helped her out” was a gross understatement. He saved her from killing herself, gave her a new life, gave her a new family, responsibilities, reasons to live… She owed Bruce everything.

“Dunno, locking someone in that shithole seems pretty personal to me,” he muttered. “He’s not as great as most people think him out to be,” the Knight continued in a slightly louder low-toned voice. “It’s refreshing to hear someone speak as though they’re not in love with him.”

“I’d imagine most of your agents aren’t in love with him, considering you’re planning to kill Batman too,” she said carefully but boldly, keeping her eyes on the road.

“What makes you say that?” he asked, his tone close to her own.

“You kind of really obviously have a big issue with the guy,” she offered, glancing at him. “Only makes sense that you’d want to kill him. He kind of gets in your way a lot, too. Besides,” she said slowly. “You guys killed Robin, didn’t you?”

 

\---

 

Nightwing stood on top of the Ikea building. It had a perfect view over the location Kat gave him, and he could duck into cover if he needed to hide. 

He didn’t hear Batman arrive, but it didn’t startle him either. Guess that was leftover from their Dynamic Duo days.

“No sign of anyone yet,” Nightwing reported. “Friend or foe.”

“They’ll be here,” Batman said, walking to stand next to him. “She’ll be here, too. Either alone or behind enemy lines. Once whatever happens tonight is over, I’m going to do a DNA sweep to try and see if she leaves any clues.”

“This is madness,” Nightwing said, frustration rising up in his voice again. “Why can’t we just get her and bring her home? If Jason really is alive and she really did find him, why don’t we just rescue them both and bring them home? Then we can all destroy the Arkham Knight together.”

“It isn’t that simple, Dick. We both know that,” Batman said quietly. “I want them back as much as you do-”

“And yet we’re doing nothing but trying to follow a breadcrumb trail Kat may or may not be leaving behind for us,” Nightwing snapped, sighing with exasperation and putting his face in his hands for a moment. “And what if she  _ is _ here tonight? What if we have to fight her?”

Batman hesitated. “I already thought about that. If she is here dressed and working for the Arkham Knight, we can’t spend time going easy on anyone just in case they might be her. Besides, we’ll be able to tell if we go against her. She’ll be faster and more nible than the normal agents. We just have to be observant.”

Nightwing couldn’t argue with his logic, as much as he wanted to keep arguing. So he just sighed again and crouched on the ledge, switching his mask to thermal sensor mode, checking around for any people on the ground.

 

\---

 

“You’re pretty bold and presumptuous with those words, Parker. And right at the Arkham Knight’s face.”

“I guess. It’s a small bunker, though. Talk gets around. I listen. It’s easier than you might think to use the process of elimination and basic logic to come to the conclusion that you or your guys killed Robin,” Charlotte said, her tone straightforward, almost borderline  _ bored _ . “Not to mention the fact that you do have an issue with Batman, which means, as long as you’re cool killing a teenager, it’s an easy way to get to Batman and mess him up.”

Jason didn’t respond until they pulled into the garage where they would load up the goods from the hired henchmen. He put the truck into park and turned it off, turning to face the teenager in the passenger seat who was looking at him without an ounce of fear in her eyes.  _ Boy, _ did this kid have some fucking nerve.

“You know why I put you on the mission tonight, Parker?” he asked her, hiding his annoyance from his tone.

“Uh,” she said, glancing away from his helmet. “Normally I would guess because of my charm, but somehow, I don’t think that’s the case.”

“It’s because you’re smart. You’re observant and clever, in addition to your remarkable physical skill and talents,” Jason told her, eyeing her expression carefully. “And it’s because you’re dangerous. You’re a bit too smart for your own good, and I think you know it. I don’t know why you’re flaunting it to me when you know I could kill you right now and have ten other men outside to replace you with, but that’s beside the point.”

She didn’t seem shaken by his mild threat of killing her, either. Jesus, either she was far too ballsy for her own good, thought he wasn’t serious (which would be a very big mistake she would learn very quickly), or didn’t care if he was serious about killing her or not, which intrigued him as much as it disturbed him.

“So I flaunt how smart I am to you, and in return, you tell me that you don’t trust me, you’ll kill me if you want to, and you let me know that you’re keeping me close to keep an eye on me?” she clarified, her voice sounding the slightest bit nervous, but mostly even.

“I think it’ll be beneficial for both of us if you know I don’t trust you,” Jason told her. “I have two pistols, and I only need one to shoot the Joker with.”

“So the other will be on me then. That’s fine. I get it,” Charlotte said, looking down at her helmet in her lap. “You’re a smart cookie too, though, so I’ll put all my cards on the table too and tell you I have no reason to betray you, at least not tonight. That probably won’t make you trust me, which is fine. I’m not gonna grovel like some of your other employees to convince you to trust me, because I don’t care much if you trust me or not. Like you said, you’re watching me anyway, so what’s the difference?” She looked back up at him and pushed her hair out of her face, her expression neutral. “Just know I don’t plan on shooting you in the back tonight, or any time in the near future I guess.”

Jason took in what she said. He was consistently perplexed by Charlotte Parker. Here she was, countering his threats by telling him she didn’t give two shits if he trusted her or not. He had no idea if she thought that might work some reverse psychology and make him trust her, but she honestly didn’t look like she was trying to pull any strings behind her words. She was smart enough to know he would be able to tell if she was lying, which meant she was probably telling the truth. Still, he was glad for his heavily reinforced armour in case she decided to change her mind.

“You don’t have much respect for authority, do you?” he asked plainly. “Not even when they have guns and twenty men ready to kill you with a single command.”

Charlotte shrugged and put her hair into a low ponytail before putting her helmet on. “Authority figures let you down too much. I find it easier to put myself on equal grounds with everyone, let respect build from there.”

Jason chuckled. He couldn’t disagree. “Fair enough,” he said, opening his door and climbing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> some good jason/katherine interactions whats up xoxoxo
> 
> also, i've started watching the flash and UMMMM I LOvE BarRY AlLEn!!! whats UP you guys i love this good boy and this good show, and i don't trust dr. wells as far as i could kick him. i paused watching supergirl in the middle of s2 so that i could start the flash and get kind of like, in sync with the shows i guess??? since they've had a couple crossover episodes and all. i just am VERY ABOUT THESE SHOWS and VERY EXCITED ABOUT THEM!!!
> 
> i'm also working on some new, less stressful drawing/comic stuff!! it's pretty much all experimental, but i'm really enjoying it!! you can find updates on my instagram, @auxiliarykit!!


	29. Twenty-Eight

Ava paced her apartment. She was pissed off. Again.

She seemed to be pissed off a lot lately. She needed to surround herself with less stressful people. Unfortunately, her very best friend in the world was a constant supplier for her anxiety. The girl put on tights and a cape and risked her life on the regular with Batman, and because clearly the regular panic attacks every time she came home with a rough injury weren’t enough, she stepped it up and got herself wrapped up with the Arkham Knight. Ava was going to have to start taking Prozac if she kept associating with the Wayne family.

Once Kat was home, Ava was going to give her the biggest fucking lecture of her life, hug her until she felt Kat’s bones pop, lecture her again, and beat her to a pulp, not necessarily in that order. She knew she was no match for Kat’s learned martial arts skills, but she also knew her friend would feel so bad about, oh you know, letting them all think she could be fucking dead for a month and a half that she would probably let Ava beat her up as much as she wanted. And Ava wouldn’t feel an ounce of guilt about it, because the girl was strong enough to get temporarily killed in a minor explosion and still laugh about it. She could take some bruises from her best friend’s very angry fists.

As mad as she was at Kat (and all the Waynes, to be honest), she was frustrated with herself as well. She had crazy amounts of knowledge about this world and the heroes and villains who existed here, but she had absolutely fucking nothing about this Arkham Knight fool. Some chump who clearly had a lot of issues was seriously throwing her off her game. 

There was nothing about him until a few months ago when he showed up on Batman and Robin’s radar. All she knew about him was the supposed work he did with the Joker and a few other nutjobs. She didn’t even know specifically what kind of “working together” he did with the other villains. And his little team of silver soldiers that he  _ definitely _ ripped their armour designs from  _ Mass Effect _ ? What was up with them? As if they were some… militia gang thing? What the fuck even. She didn’t understand how gangs worked, but she was pretty confident they didn’t usually look like those agents.

Ontop of being baffled by the whackjob in the silver bat-like helmet, there was the entire situation about Jason Todd. When Kat had told her he was alive, Ava had thought to herself,  _ Ah, right on schedule. _ Things were a little weird here, with Jason being killed in a dramatic video the Joker sent to Batman, but he still died, like he was supposed to. And when Kat told her about her discovery, Ava was excited for the Red Hood to come onto the scene and start causing trouble. Yeah, it would make Bruce and Kat’s lives harder for a while, but at least Bruce would have his son back. The limitation of her knowledge of things too far out of her reach, usually in time (i.e. things happening too far in the future that she couldn’t quite grasp the details of yet) kept her from being sure how long it would take Jason and Bruce to be on speaking terms again, but at least it would happen.

Then, Kat started investigating the Joker to find out what really happened to Jason Todd, as if he’d never died in the first place. Because Ava couldn’t explain how Jason would have come back to life if the Joker really had killed Jason dead, she’d been forced to go along with Kat’s theory that Jason had never really died; the Joker had faked his death. That was the first thing that threw her for a loop.

Then Kat, blessed idiot she fucking was, sent herself to Arkham to find out information about the Joker or from the Joker about Jason. That wasn’t supposed to happen in any sense of a good timeline. Then she’d been kidnapped and recruited by this rando Arkham Knight.  _ Then _ , while in the secret HQ of the Arkham Knight, she’d found Jason alive and well. Like- what the  _ fuck _ was Ava supposed to do now? Her entire realm of knowledge that had been some of the other things she’d been able to hold onto as definite facts to keep her sane in this superhero world she lived in snowballed into a flaming ditch with one note Kat left in Bruce’s suit jacket. She didn’t know anything anymore. She couldn’t be sure about anything or anyone. Whoever this Arkham Knight was needed a beatdown too, if only just for throwing her so harshly off her game. She hoped Kat would kick his ass for her, since she figured she’d never get the chance herself.

Ava plopped down onto her couch with a loud, verbal groan. She held one of the cushions in her arms and squeezed it against her chest. There had to be  _ something _ she still knew. Something she could know or figure out. Something only she could see because of her knowledge abilities or whatever. She just… had to find out what it was.

With another groan, she sat up and threw the cushion down, picking up her laptop and starting to open the files Bruce had given her to help study the Arkham Knight to figure out who he was. She hadn’t had any more luck than him or Alfred, but at least she’d been able to print out a photo of the guy which she actively enjoyed throwing darts and birdarangs she stole from Kat at.

Dick hadn’t reacted like Ava thought he would when he learned that Jason was still alive. Instead of being glad or excited, he’d just included Jason’s name with Kat’s as he frustratedly insisted they just go on a rescue mission. She figured maybe the info hadn’t really sunken in yet at the time. Ava couldn’t shake the thought that maybe Kat didn’t just come home since she technically accomplished her mission because… maybe she wasn’t sure if Jason  _ wanted _ to come home? Once Ava really started to think about it, maybe the Joker fried Jason’s brains so bad, he forgot who he was? Forgot his father, his family? Maybe he brainwashed Jason into hating Batman, and Jason was content to work for the Arkham Knight to kill Batman inste-

Ava slowly looked up from her computer, her eyes  landing on the photo covered in darts and birdarangs on the wall across from her. The worst mix of excitement and dread filled her entire body.

“Holy fucking shit,” she nearly yelled, jumping up from the couch and slapping her computer shut. She pulled on her boots and grabbed her coat, keys, and laptop, calling Alfred as she dashed out the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> uh oh! what could this mean ?!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!!
> 
> so basically, this chapter focuses on ava and her ability to know things that are supposed to happen in this DC universe and being thrown off by the events of this au. it's a meta mess lmao but i hope u enjoi nevertheless
> 
> in unrelated conversation, if you haven't heard the song "silence" by marshmello ft khalid, go give it a listen! it's a jam and i love it


	30. Twenty-Nine

The night was, by Kat’s standards, going rather smoothy. All the goons were loading and unloading whatever guns or contraband they were dealing tonight, and no trouble had stirred yet. That made her nervous. Dick and Batman wouldn’t be showing up since the location she gave Dick was where the first team went, not the one she was included in with the Knight. That important little nugget of information didn’t hit her until she’d been walking around the warehouse with the Arkham Knight, who instructed her to stay at his side the entire mission. She didn’t really have an issue with being his shadow- that meant she could follow him around, listen to everything he said and told people, and be the first to know if someone reported a Batman or Nightwing sighting at the other dropsite. If Batman got to the other team, she was confident one of them would probably alert the Knight, and at least another would give Batman this location. However, the way the time was going, she started to doubt that logic more and more. Even if they did show up, she was nervous about potentially having to fight him. The Knight didn’t usually fight Batman head-on, though, which meant she probably wouldn’t have to fight him either. She hoped.

Still, they’d been there for twenty minutes, and no sign of trouble. There’d also been no sign of the Joker, which she thought was great news. The Knight didn’t seem to concerned about it either since he didn’t ask the thug in charge of Joker’s goons.

Kat didn’t even know if she wanted them to show up. She still hadn’t recovered from seeing Dick and being hugged by him at the store the night before. 

“Everything’s about loaded up,” an agent reported to the Knight. Katherine looked around the open area between warehouses. Some of the Joker’s men were lingering around in a way she did not like one bit. 

“Good,” the Knight said. “Go do a last round of inventory before we go.”

“Sir,” the agent said with a nod before turning and heading back into the warehouse with the trucks inside. 

“Don’t trust us?” the thug in charge of the Joker’s men said smugly.

“Nope,” the Knight said flatly. “Where’s your boss? Where’s the Joker?”

All the men in the courtyard pulled out their guns and aimed them at Katherine and the Knight. Cool.

“We don’t work for the Joker. Didn’t you get the memo?” the lead thug said with a stupidly cocky grin. 

“They work for me,” a steely, smooth voice said. Kat turned and looked over and up, and standing on top of a shipping crate fifteen meters or so away was Scarecrow. Super.

“This is a joke, right?” the Knight said, looking up at Scarecrow. 

“I’m afraid not,” Scarecrow said cooly.

“Nice pun,” Kat said, giving him a thumbs up.

Scarecrow ignored her. “The Joker’s weapons you’re stealing are of particular interest to me. So I’m here to collect. You can have the scraps, boy.”

Kat idly wondered if anyone from their team was going to come out and see this, but then she remembered that there were only eight men back with the trucks (the other twelve had gone to the second location), and if Scarecrow was ambushing them, she doubted he would’ve had an issue taking down the agents in the warehouse. So much for the night going smoothly.

“I’m not leaving without what I came here for, Scarecrow,” the Knight said, lifting one of his pistols and aiming it at the hooded villain. The lead goon fired a shot at the Knight, and within a second, another gunshot fired and the Knight had his second pistol trained where the, now dead, goon had been standing. A bunch of the other thugs clicked their guns, but didn’t fire. “You want me to kill more of your thugs, or you want to get out of my hair before I have to kill you too?”

“You’re outnumbered, boy. I have forty henchmen at my disposal, and you have one little girl with a pair of pistols,” Scarecrow reminded him. “I don’t think you’d be surprised that I already took care of your other agents. You have no backup. It would be in your best interest to stand there while I take what I want.”

“I’m offended,” Kat said, taking her pistols out of their holsters and unlocking the safeties. She really hoped no one could tell how nervous she was. She glanced at the Knight and waved her hands a little. “Just give me the word,” she told him.

The Knight looked at her briefly before turning back to Scarecrow. “You really know how to ruin a guy’s evening, you know that?” he said before firing a shot at Scarecrow. 

The last sound Kat heard before the Knight said, “Go,” and the flurry of gunshots drowned her ears was Scarecrow’s creepy laugh from the top of that shipping container.

Katherine knew she unlocked the safety on her guns for dramatic effect, but she was really hoping she wouldn’t have to shoot anyone. She would aim for disabling injuries, not to kill, obviously, but it still made her nervous. And Scarecrow made her double nervous- the guy worked with fear and drugs and an entire list of things Kat hated.

Nevertheless, she jumped into action and dashed into the fight, heading towards five guys nearby with pistols and auto rifles trained on her. She dodged their bullets easily and put her guns away; clearly these guys weren’t hired for their aim. It took her no time to knock the guns from their hands and beat them all into a heap on the ground, knocking several of them unconscious, shattering one’s collarbone with his own rifle, and popping the others’ shoulders out of their sockets.

A bullet whizzed past her, and she turned, jumping up as a goon tried to hit her with his rifle, and kicking him in the head. He stumbled over, and she grabbed his rifle, hitting him in the head, gut, throat, and then head again with it until he crumpled down to a moaning slump on the ground. After him, she found herself weaving through the crowd, dodging bullets from various goons and the Knight as he shot the occasional thug near her. Kat was finishing knocking two guys out cold by slamming their heads together when she looked around and realized there were more thugs around than there should have been. Scarecrow must have had more and were sending them in. Super great.

She was doing fine in the fight, holding her own and even saving the Knight’s hide a few times by throwing guns at goons behind him and knocking their weapons down or knocking them upside the head before they could attack him and giving him a moment more to react and disable or kill them. She didn’t like aiding him in his killing, but she also didn’t feel too bad about it. 

But then she heard one guy yell, “When did the Bat get here?!”

She made the mistake of turning around. She saw Batman, in the flesh, only ten meters away, kicking butt as guys swarmed around him.

“Perfect,” the Knight said irritatedly. He shot a few more guys and beat them down as they screamed in pain.

Katherine was frozen, staring at Batman, until another shot flew past her, grazing her arm and snapping her back into the fight. She whipped around and jumped back into the fray, disarming the guy who shot her and grabbing him in a chokehold until he passed out.

She turned to assess the situation again, when she saw the Knight in a very unfair fistfight against a guy closer to Katherine’s weight class and height. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and saw Scarecrow standing on another shipping crate with a small, thin gun trained on the Knight. The Knight shoved his opponent to the ground and shot him in the legs, letting the guy fall backwards with a scream.

And she couldn’t explain why her legs took her running towards the Knight, yelling, “Look out, B!” She had no idea why she found herself jumping on a groaning goon on the ground and using him as a vault board as she flipped over and kicked the Knight square in the chest, sending him staggering back a few feet with surprise. 

Pain exploded in her shoulder, and she yelled in pain, stumbling to the ground next to the Knight and catching herself on one knee. 

“Parker!” the Knight yelled, and Kat could feel whatever sick venom toxin she’d just been shot with starting to seep into her body.

She stood back up, trembling with rage. She couldn’t believe she just got shot by Scarecrow. She couldn’t  _ believe _ she’d taken the shot for the Knight, the bastard motherfucker who’d shot and killed her. 

“Quite a loyal servant you have, Knight,” Scarecrow said, refilling his little gun. “That was a new toxin I’ve been working on. I suppose you’ll both have to tell me what it’s like for my notes.”

“I am so  _ fucking sick _ of getting shot!!!” Kat said, her voice shaking and rising to a shout as she turned to face Scarecrow. He fired another shot at the Knight, but Kat whipped out her pistols and shot the dart projectile out of the air and fired another three shots at Scarecrow himself. She heard one of them hit, earning a surprised cry from Scarecrow. 

“Go, Sargeant! Parker and I will catch up,” she heard the Knight saying into their comms. She realized that there had been speaking in her helmet; some of the agents must have come to and were preparing to leave with the weapons.

Kat started to stalk towards Scarecrow as the villain recovered from her shot. She raised her pistol again and shot at his gun, hearing the pleasing sound of his weapon shattering and his yell of pain as it also caused a minor explosion when it shattered.

“Knight!” Batman yelled from across the area. Kat turned and saw him just as two batarangs flew past her and the Knight. Warning shots.

Her heart ached at the sight of Batman in front of her. She wanted to run into his arms so  _ badly _ . She just wanted to go  _ home _ -

“We’re done here,” the Knight said, stepping forward and grabbing her around the waist. “You can clean this up, Batman,” he said as the Bat started running towards them. But the Knight activated one of his flash smoke bombs, and Katherine found herself being whisked away. When her feet found ground again, they were on top of a warehouse at the far end of the yard, probably too far for Batman to see them if he didn’t look this way. 

“Parker!” the Knight snapped. She looked at him and realized he’d said something to her.

“What?” she said.

“I asked if you can run, but I’m going to guess the answer is no,” the Knight said, holstering his weapon.

“No, I’m good,” she said, doing the same and reaching behind her, carefully pulling Scarecrow’s nasty little dart out of the back of her right shoulder with a groan. “Yikes,” she muttered, tossing it to the ground.

“I don’t think you’re  _ good _ . You were just shot with Scarecrow’s toxin. How is it affecting you?” he asked, his tone serious.

“It isn’t,” Kat said honestly. She thanked Bruce for the upteenth time for all the painful innoculations she’d had to deal with during her Robin training. Right now, her mind was still clouded by being so close to Bruce and having to leave him behind. “I have, uh, a high tolerance for that kind of stuff.”

“This isn’t just some shit they shoot you up with at Arkham,” the Knight said darkly. “This is straight from Scarecrow.”

“Where do you think they get the shit at Arkham from?” Kat snapped, holding out her hands. “Seriously, let’s get out of here. I’m fine.”

The Knight sighed and shook his head. “Start running,” he said, pointing in a direction. “I’ll tell you when to drop where we’re intersecting with the truck. I’ll follow behind you so I can catch your stupid ass if you fall.”

Kat rolled her eyes but took off anyway, dashing in the direction he told her and parkouring across the rooftops. “You’re welcome!” she shouted at him after a few roofs.

“My armour is ten times thicker than your Kevlar suit. You got hurt for nothing,” the Knight said, plainly and irritated behind her.

“I’m rolling my eyes at you,” she shot back, running faster to try and put some unnecessary distance between them. 

When he told her to, she flipped off the edge of a building, landing on a neighbouring fire escape, and jumped down the rest of the way onto the parked truck carrying some of their weapons that was parked in the alley. The impact wasn’t anything more jarring than some of the other jumps she did regularly, but when she landed and stood up, the entire world shifted and was a confusing, fuzzy mess. She flinched and blinked a few time until the stars disappeared, and she quickly jumped off the truck as the Knight dropped down behind her. The pair climbed in, and she did some silent breathing exercises during the short ride back to their Pottery Barn base.

Kat climbed out of the truck and listened to the Knight tell a couple agents standing around to start unloading. He then turned and pointed to her. 

“Parker. Infirmary, now,” he said sternly.

“I told you I’m fine-” she tried to insist.

“And I told you I don’t trust you,” he snapped back. “Now, I gave you an order. Go.”

Kat pulled off her helmet so he could see her glare at him before she turned and did as he said, walking back to the stairs that led to the underground bunker. 

She grumbled to herself as she walked, rubbing her aching shoulder and trying not to think about how close she’d been to Bruce. 

She was interrupted, however, by turning the corner to go down the hall where the infirmary was and bumping into someone, sending her staggering forward a few steps. She caught herself and started to apologize, but she froze, paralyzed with fear when she saw who was in front of her.

“Ooh, better watch where you’re going, little bird!” the Joker said with his wicked grin. “Wouldn’t want you bumping into the wrong sort, now would we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> DUN   
> DUN  
> DUN


	31. Thirty

Charlotte took off her helmet and glared at him briefly before turning and walking off to do as he’d said. Who did this fucking kid think she was?

Jason gave out his last orders before going down to the bunker and straight to his quarters. As soon as he was inside, he shut and locked the door and took his helmet off, tossing it to the floor angrily. 

Fucking Scarecrow. Fucking Batman. Fucking Charlotte Parker. Jesus fucking Christ, could nothing be easy?

Meanwhile, now Scarecrow was getting involved with his business and snooping around. Apparently it had been clear to him that Jason was stealing from the Joker, which meant he needed to get whoever was in charge of arranging that transfer tonight needed a visit from the Knight about their security measures.

He wasn't even going to worry about how Batman found out about it. That motherfucker found out everything eventually. He wouldn't even waste time and energy stressing about that.

Right now, his main stress was with that fucking girl,  _ Charlotte Parker _ . Where to even start?

He didn't even know how to describe his shock when she jumped at him to get him out of the way and take the shot from Scarecrow for him. His first instinct had been to shoot her because she attacked him, and then once he realized what happened, her name flew out of his mouth with anger and surprise. Most of his agents would take a shot for him. He did not anticipate Charlotte to be among those people, especially since she pretty much flat out told him she didn't trust him or respect him as her superior. He wondered if she would’ve taken the shot so easily if it had been Jason Todd and not the Arkham Knight. Were they friends? Would she have saved him like that? She’d mostly struck him as the type to save herself before sticking her neck out for someone else in a situation, which meant he was nowhere near knowing her as well enough as he wanted to by this point.

Then there was her fucking verbal warning as she’d dashed towards him. Her voice echoed in his head again:  _ “Look out, B!” _ Clearly she hadn’t been speaking to him, unless she meant to call him by his name and another’s name slipped out instead. Had she been addressing  _ Batman _ for some reason? Why the fuck would she have told him to look out when one, he’s Batman, the known enemy between them, and two, Scarecrow hadn't even been aiming at Batman. Some small part of his mind remembered how Dick used to call Bruce/Batman “B”-

He slammed his fist into the wall with an agitated yell. He would  _ not _ think about those assholes like that right now. He had bigger issues. 

There was a tentative knock on his door, and he almost yelled at them to leave, but he took a couple deep breaths, retrieved his helmet and put it on, and said in a continued irritated tone, “ _ What? _ ”

The door carefully opened. Christina Whitaker from the medical wing poked her head in.

“Is this- Is this a bad time, sir?” she asked cautiously. 

“Is it important?” he countered, still annoyed.

“I mean- It's about the new girl, Charlotte Parker.”

Fucking hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> things are really boutta pop off,,, please activate your thirtieth seat belt, thank you, the ride is in HEAVY MOTION


	32. Thirty-One

_ “Parker!” _

She’d been right there.  _ Right in front of him. _

Dick would be upset when he told him. Hell, Bruce was upset. He was mad.

Not to mention, he was still stung from hearing her voice (it’d been through that helmet, but he knew her voice anywhere) when she called for him to look out. He’d instinctively dodged, then froze when he realized she’d been talking to the Knight. He looked over just in time to see Katherine get shot by something Scarecrow had been firing at the Arkham Knight. He wasn't as worried about her being exposed to whatever toxin Scarecrow had in that projectile as he was about her slipping up and calling the Knight by the nickname she and Dick called him. He’d trained her and made sure she was immunized and inoculated to various extracts of Scarecrow’s toxins and gases on a regular basis, but there was nothing to be done about a verbal slip up like that. He just prayed it wouldn’t cost her or blow her cover.

“Where are you, Batman?” Nightwing called over the coms. “Did you find the baby bird? All clear here.”

“I did,” Batman said into the communicator. “You’re not going to like it. Meet me back at the Cave.”

“I hate when you say that,” Nightwing grumbled with a sigh. “Alright. See you there.”

Batman drove the Batmobile the rest of the way to the cave in silence, going over the events of the night again and again in his head.

When he pulled into the cave and parked, Dick was standing unmasked nearby, arms crossed, waiting for him. Bruce was out of the car two seconds before Dick started asking questions. 

“What happened? Is she alright? Did you have to fight her?” his oldest son asked, all at once.

“She was with the Knight,” Bruce said, gesturing for Dick to follow as he made his way to the Bat-Computer. He was surprised to find Ava at the computer with her laptop and several papers scattered around her. Alfred stood nearby, as if the two of them had just been in a conversation. Ava looked up at him and Dick when they walked up.

“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked. Her voice had an edge to it that he wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “A lot happened.”

“Well I have news too,” Ava said, spinning around to give him her full attention. “You two first, though.”

“Alright,” Bruce said, stepping away and turning to face all three of them. “I arrived at the second location after leaving Dick to handle the agents at the place Katherine told him about. Once I was there, I found the Arkham Knight and one of his agents taking on about thirty thugs while Scarecrow observed from atop a shipping crate. Once one of the thugs announced my arrival, the agent with the Knight turned and looked at me. At first I thought it was because they were intimidated, but then they jumped back into the fight and realized it was Kat when she disarmed someone and knocked them unconscious. I realized her guns had been away the entire time I’d been there while the Knight was shooting while he fought.”

“Did you do anything?” Dick said, crossing his arms. “Were you able to talk to her??”

Bruce shook his head and removed his cowl. “I wouldn’t have had the chance. It seemed like the Knight had her specially assigned to stay at his side. And the rest of their agents weren’t out there with them, so I had no chance to sneak her aside or anything,” he said with a sigh. “And then… I heard her voice, clear as day through the helmet she had on, and…” He sighed again and rubbed his face.

“What?” Ava said.

“What did she do?” Dick demanded.

“She shouted, “Look out, B!” to the Arkham Knight. I instinctively moved, because I’m so used to her being at my side and trusting her warnings, but when I realized she shouldn’t have been speaking to me, I turned and saw her shove aside the Knight and take a shot from some weapon Scarecrow had.”

“She… hold up-” Dick said, holding his hands out and stepping back a pace. “She  _ took a shot _ for the  _ Knight??? _ ”

“And she accidentally called him  _ your _ name,” Ava said worriedly. “Oh no. She’s ruined. She’s definitely ruined.”

“The Knight threw one of his flash-smoke grenades and disappeared with her shortly after, leaving me to attempt to take down Crane,” Bruce said tiredly. He didn’t include Kat’s outburst about “being sick of getting shot” or the fact that he watched her pull out those pistols and expertly shoot a dart from Scarecrow’s gun out of the air and then shoot several rounds at the man himself. If circumstances were different, he would have scolded her for using the guns against an enemy at all, but he silently admitted to himself that he was impressed with her precision and skill as well as her reaction timing. She must have been training hard with the Knight’s soldiers. 

“So she’s still with them,” Dick said, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. He started to pace, grumbling, “I can’t  _ believe _ she took a shot for that creep! Even if it was by accident, an instinctual move because she’s used to being your partner- still!”

“Weeelllll,” Ava said slowly, her voice several pitches higher than normal. Bruce and Dick looked at her at the same time, and the expression on her face conflicted.

“Well what?” Dick asked. “You think she was right to take a shot for him?”

“Well, uh,” Ava said, rubbing the back of her neck before letting out a loud and heavy sigh. “I mean, I think there’s just potentially a lot more to it than just her taking a shot for the Arkham Knight. You know, uh. Because the Knight is Jason.”

Bruce simply could not compute that information. “What now?” he asked, slowly stepping over to the teenager.

“Yeah, um, I was gonna be more dramatic about it, but. Here it is,” she said. “Jason is the Arkham Knight. Oh fuck.” She dipped her head into one of her hands and mumbled something else that Bruce didn’t catch.

“What was that?” he asked.

“I just- I’m just still trying to digest all this information,” Ava said with a groan. 

“You’ve never had information give you trouble like this before,” Dick said, crossing his arms at her.

“It’s complicated. I’ll explain another time because the details aren’t important to this.” 

Bruce wanted to contest her, but Ava was rarely wrong about information like this. Even when she was wrong, it was more like  _ inaccurate _ , a few details too exaggerated or vague. He knew that if she told him Jason and the Arkham Knight were the same people… she was telling the truth.

That begged the question then: did Kat know? Did she take that shot knowing she would be trying to protect Jason, or had it simply been a reflex from working at Bruce’s side for so long?

Whether she knew his true identity or not… Bruce felt sickening assurance that either way, she was going to be in trouble soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> got some new comic stuff material posted on instagram! feel free to go take a gander! @auxiliarykit !!!
> 
> i've also just finished setting up my website, which i am very excited about! it's still pretty simple and not much there, but i'll be adding more stuff soon as i make it, so stay tuned!
> 
> http://algebrabook.tumblr.com/


	33. Thirty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> hallucinations, like lots of real bummer hallucinations, depression-influenced bad thought times, self-harm, more blood in this one than uh in others so. idk, self harm mention, physical abuse mention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's a real heavy doozy.

Kat stumbled into the infirmary. Her heart was racing, she was sweating, and she’d left the Joker behind in the hallway. God fucking damnit, Crane.

She looked around the infirmary, it was empty, thankfully, save for Christina who was on duty tonight.

“Hey, Char!” she chirped, waving from her desk. “How’d the mission go?”

“Christina, I need you to confirm that you’ve seen me and clear me to go to my room,” Katherine said quickly. She rubbed her face with shaking hands and glanced back at the door. No Joker. That was good. 

“What are you talking about?” Christina asked, getting up and making her way over to Kat. “Yikes, you look like a mess, girl! What happened on that mission?”

“The Knight sent me here to get checked and cleared to make sure I’m alright,” Kat explained, trying to even out her breathing. She blinked and for a moment, everything was tinted blue and fuzzy. Oh god. “I need you to clear me and send me to my dorm.”

“Why did he send you here? What happened? Char, with the way you’re acting and sweating like that, I can’t just clear you,” Christina said. She crossed her arms once she stood in front of the teenager and leaned forward, looking her over with concern on her face. 

“I- ugh,” Kat groaned, scrubbing her face with her hands and then looking back up at Christina. “I got shot with some toxin-filled dart by Scarecrow-”

“Oh  _ god _ ,” Christina said, reaching forward and taking Kat’s chin in her hand. Kat flinched hard; Christina’s hand seemed to move five times faster than it should have. It also shouldn’t be covered in black veins, and the air shouldn’t have visible particles floating around. “Are you hallucinating?”

“No,” Kat said immediately. She blinked. Normal Christina again. “Yes. Sort of. Just a little bit-”

“ _ Charlotte- _ ”

“Look, they did this stuff to me all the time at Arkham. Things get a little weird, nothing bad, I just need to sit down and ride it out. I know how to handle this stuff,” Kat insisted.

“You don’t need to ride this shit out, girl,” Christina said with a frown. “We have antitoxins for this kind of stuff-”

“Is it injected?”

“What?”

“Do you have to inject the antitoxin with a needle?” Kat asked again.

“Yes? So what?”

Katherine shook her head quickly. “No thank you. I’ve had enough needles. I don’t even need an antitoxin, it would be a waste. This will wear off in a few hours.”

“It’s not a waste if it clears you up  _ now! _ ” Christina insisted. “Come on, Charlotte, don’t-”

“Christina,” Katherine said seriously, reaching forward and putting her hands on the other woman’s biceps. “I had so many needles stuck and prodded into me and shooting me up during my short time at Arkham. I  _ really  _ cannot handle another needle being stuck in me. Not right now.” She gave Christina a desperate look. “Please,  _ please _ , just clear me to my room.”

She could see the internal debate going on behind Christina’s eyes, but finally she sighed. Kat decided to not mention that suddenly the Joker was chilling out on a cot across the room, waving at her from behind Christina.

“Fine. But I’m escorting you there,” Christina said finally.

“That’s- That’s fine,” Kat said weakly. “That’s probably best.”

“Oh, how exciting!” the Joker exclaimed, hopping up from the cot and trotting over as Christina led Kat out of the infirmary. “I can’t wait to see your little room! I bet it’s nicer than the place I set up for Jason underneath Arkham. Poor kid!”

Kat forced herself to breathe, and when Christina let her go into her room, Kat thanked her and watched Christina shut the door, the Joker remaining in the hall with her, grinning and waving.

Kat spun around and looked around her room. The room kept flipping between looking normal and as if there was a weird, grainy, blue filter over the world. Bats and bugs flew around, making her flinch and her breath catch in her throat.

None of this was real. The Joker wasn’t real. Everything was fine. She was hallucinating. She knew she was hallucinating. She just needed to stay calm and ride it out. Her heart slamming in her chest begged for the antitoxin, whatever kind they had here, anything to help, but she was too scared of how the needles would trigger her now that she was tripping out. She would have to just try to breathe. Take what Bruce taught her and put it to use. She could do this.

She hoped she could. She hoped even more that Christina wouldn’t tell the Knight what happened.

Kat walked to the corner of the room opposite the door and sat down against the wall, pulling her knees to her chest and trying to breathe. She blinked hard and opened her eyes, whining quietly at the horrorscape her bedroom was turning into.

 

\---

 

“She refused the antitoxin. She said she had enough needles at Arkham, I think she’s afraid of-”

“More afraid of needles than whatever she’s hallucinating from Scarecrow’s toxin?” Jason said with a bitter laugh. “She’s being a fool.”

He walked into the infirmary with Christina and she dug through a cabinet, producing a small vile and a packaged needle. “This is what we have to counter most of Scarecrow’s stuff,” she said, handing the items to him. 

“What’s her room?” he asked, taking them and examining the vile. He already knew what room she lived in, he’d been there before. But the Knight had no reason to know, so he had to ask anyway. 

“26A, sir,” Christina said, her voice a bit cautious. She had something she wanted to say.

Jason looked up at her. “What?” he asked. “You have something else to tell me?”

She looked a little surprised. “I- I just-” She took a deep breath. “I just feel bad for her. She's just a kid, you know? Please don't be too harsh on her.”

As if her being a kid made a difference to him. She was only two years younger than him, and he’d endured far worse than she could imagine. 

“I’ll take care of it,” was all he told Christina before turning and leaving the infirmary.

 

\---

 

“You'll never leave here alive, you know that right? We’re both prisoners here!” the Joker said sympathetically. 

“You're in my head. You can't hurt me,” Katherine said lowly. She held her head in her hands, arms on either side of her face, hair clenched in her fists. 

“Now who ever told you that?!” Joker said, hopping off her bed and stalking over to her. “You don't really believe that, do you? I mean, you of all people should know that what's in your head can hurt you worst of all.” His hand grabbed her wrist and yanked it in front of her. All her old scars, and the still fresh ones which suddenly weren't covered by the bandage anymore, all began bleeding. They stung as if they were all fresh. Her fingertips were covered in blood. She needed to stop the bleeding. She needed to stop it or else she would bleed out here. She was an idiot for even ever cutting herself at all. She was an idiot for ever slipping up that one time. She kept relapsing, it didn't even matter how many chances Bruce gave her-

“I’m surprised anyone will still have you around with these,” Joker said, tutting at her. “How many times have you hurt him by hurting yourself?”

“Too many,” she whispered. She was bleeding so much.

“I’d bet he doesn't even  _ want _ you to come home by now, wouldn't you say?” The Joker dropped her hand and smeared some of her blood up his cheek, his fake smile lines. “Don't worry, I’ll keep you all for myself!”

She would bleed out if she didn't stop her arms, if she didn't stop herself. But she couldn't get up, she couldn't-

_ No _ , she thought, clenching her fists and shutting her eyes.  _ This isn't real. He isn't real. You are hallucinating. _ She opened her eyes and the Joker laughed in her face.

“You can't stop this, little wing!” he taunted.

“ _ Don't call me that! _ ” Kat snapped.

“Why not? Big brother Dickie doesn't want you either, do you think he will ever call you that cute little name again?!”

“You aren't real. I’m fine,” Kat whispered to herself again. Her arms wrapped tight around her torso. She tried to breathe. 

“You'll be my baby bird, now! We could call you my little red Robin, but I think Jason deserves that one for how bloodied he got when I beat him with my crowbar!” The Joker laughed hysterically. “He was tough, but I broke him! Yes I did, and I’ll break you too, little wing-”

“You're not real! You can't  _ touch _ me,” Kat snarled, snapping her eyes up to glare at him. 

The Joker giggled and leaned in until their noses almost touched. “Do you think that will stop me from breaking you? From shattering you into tiny little bird and bat shaped pieces?”

He started laughing again. and the entire room got dark. Kat could feel things crawling on her, and she started trembling harder. She forced herself to breathe. Focus. Don't give into the hallucinations. Don't focus on the bad, just think about-

_ Bruce _ , she thought just as she blinked and looked up. 

“You've failed me again,” Bruce said darkly. She felt a sharp sting on her face, but Bruce stayed several feet away. The look on his face- it was everything she'd ever feared to see on him. Anger, disappointment, distrust, hatred,  _ disgust _ … She saw it in his eyes; her father didn't love her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> this is part one of about four chaptpers for this scene. stay tuned!


	34. Thirty-Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> more hallucinations, more blood stuff, more depression stuff, basically all the warnings from last chapter apply here

Jason stalked down the halls. He was less mad than he'd been after leaving the infirmary, but he was still full of questions and irritation. 

He’d changed into some regular clothes, a t-shirt, joggers, and sneakers, and he had the antitoxin in his pocket. 

This fucking kid. He had so much to fucking deal with, and here he was, going to administer the antitoxin for this new kid who foolishly took a shot from Scarecrow for him. If she wanted to ride it out, he should let her. So why wasn’t he? Why couldn’t he shake the feeling of concern for her? Why did he feel so goddamn intrigued and…  _ connected _ to her? Why did he care about her? Fucking hell.

He walked up to her door and ruffled his hair, sighing with irritation. Everything he did today seemed to be  _ with irritation _ . He knocked on her door. (With irritation.)

She didn’t respond, so he knocked again, hearing a soft  _ thud _ come from in the room. Another set of seconds passed, but Charlotte still didn’t answer her door.

“It’s Jason,” he announced, leaning closer to the door. “You’re not answering, so I’m gonna come in.”

Still nothing, so he did as he said and carefully opened the door, looking around in the dark bedroom. Nothing seemed out of place… A few clothes on the floor, bed unmade, he saw some medical supplies on the desk. 

“Charlotte?” he said, closing the door behind him and looking around. He heard her breathing first, and walked in a little bit, finally seeing her sitting across the room on the floor with her back against the bed. She hugged her knees to her chest with one arm while the other held her face in a trembling hand. “Charlotte?” he tried again, walking over to her.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with so many emotions, he was actually a little startled. “Why are you here?” she said quietly, her expression falling to a tired anxious look.

“You wouldn’t take the antitoxin,” he said, unable to hide some of the annoyance in his tone as he knelt down in front of her. He wanted to be more explicitly displeased, but something about her shook the irritation that had been so potent before he walked into this room right out of him.

“You’re not real,” she mumbled, so quietly he almost missed it. “Please don’t do this to me. I’m paying enough for my mistakes.”

He wasn’t really sure what that meant, except that she clearly thought he was another hallucination. “I’m real,” he assured her, surprised at how his tone softened. He reached out to touch her arm and prove it, but the second she realized his hand nearing her, she flinched hard and he froze.

“No,” she insisted, shaking her head and trembling more. She blinked hard and he realized there were tears in the corner of her eyes. “Don’t do this to me. You’re not real. You can’t trick me like this.”

“I’m not tricking you, Charlotte, I’m right here,” he said carefully. Jesus, she was a mess. He wondered how long it would take him to pin her down and forcibly stick her with the antitoxin. He knew he could, but if she thought she was hallucinating everything, she would be too unpredictable for his liking.

Charlotte shook her head more, taking a hard, shaky breath. She looked him right in the eyes. “No you’re not, Jason. You’re dead.”

 

\---

 

Kat heard Jason’s voice, and when she looked around, she knew exactly where she was. She heard the Joker’s laugh somewhere in the back of her mind. This place haunted her mind and nightmares on the regular. She had no idea where it was physically, but she would know this room anywhere. She was in the room where the Joker killed Jason Todd.

Jason walked in, and Katherine put her head down into her hand, forcing herself not to look up. It didn’t make a difference. He was dead behind her eyelids. Why did she even shut her eyes? He was dead. The Joker shot him. The Joker killed Jason in cold blood. Jason couldn’t be with her because he was  _ dead _ .

“Charlotte?” His voice was right in front of her. She looked up, and there he was. Robin, Jason Todd, her predecessor… He stood right in front of her. He was completely bloodied, his blood blending with his Robin uniform in some places. There was a single bullet hole on his forehead.

“Why are you here?” she said miserably.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” the Joker asked, walking around behind Jason. He put his hands on Jason’s shoulders. “Now I’ve got my two birds together in one place.” He led Jason over, and her dead, older brother knelt down in front of her. 

“You’re not real,” she said, although she didn’t know who it was meant for. She wanted both of them to go away. “Please don’t do this to me. I’m paying enough for my mistakes.” Was it not enough for the Joker to torment her mind? Was it not enough for her to feel her head spinning and her skin crawling as she cut and bled? Was it not enough for Bruce to come and tell her she’d failed him? She knew she did. She knew she messed up. She’d messed up, and he didn’t love her. Dick didn’t love her. Ava didn’t love her. She messed up. She was paying for it.

“I’m real,” Jason said, his voice sounding hollow. He raised his hand and pointed a gun at her. Katherine flinched hard, but she had no idea why. Was she afraid to die? Was she afraid for him to kill her?

“No,” she said. She should just let him kill her. She’d be better off dead.

“You’re dead on the inside, what’s the difference?!” the Joker said with a laugh. 

Kat shook her head and blinked hard. Tears fell from her eyes and her throat burned with the threat of more crying. “Don’t do this to me,” she said in a shaky voice to the Joker. “You’re not real. You can’t trick me like this.”

“Who’s tricking you, little bird?” he taunted. “Jason’s right here in front of you.”

“I’m not tricking you Charlotte. I’m right here,” Jason agreed. His face looked worried. Maybe it was the bullet in his forehead. Maybe it was the blood streaming from his nose and the bruises on his cheeks. 

She took a shaky breath and stared into his dead, dead eyes. “No you’re not, Jason. You’re dead.”

He seemed surprised, sitting back a little.

“He did this to you,” she whispered, putting her face in her hands.

“Me?! I didn’t do a thing!” the Joker said incredulously. “Well, maybe I did a few things!” He laughed and Kat cringed hard. “But we all know who’s  _ really _ behind all this, don’t we, little bird?”

Kat opened her eyes, moving her hand to her chest, right over her branding. It throbbed. It hadn’t hurt since it had been healing in the days after the incident, but now it ached on her skin, it  _ burned _ .

Who was responsible? Her throat felt dry. 

“ _ Batman _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> catch me laying on the floor reeling because of how easy it felt to write the joker (yike)


	35. Thirty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> warnings from previous chapter still apply

Jason frowned and stared at her. She looked at him, but it felt like she was looking through him. He had no idea what she was seeing, but still… Why did she think he was  _ dead? _

“I’m not dead. I’m right here,” he told her cautiously. 

She shook her head again. “He did this to you,” she whispered, putting her head in her hands. 

Jason froze. Charlotte was hallucinating, but there was only so much one’s mind could make up by itself. 

She knew something. She was hiding something about him, about herself. He wasn’t playing games.

“Who?” he demanded. “Who did this to me?” He remembered being locked in that room, tied to various chairs and wheelchairs, chained to walls and the ceiling. He remembered the beatings, the torture, the  _ words _ … He remembered who stayed in his mind every goddamned moment while he lived through that hell… 

“ _ Batman _ ,” she said weakly.

Jason actually moved back away from her. He was breathing hard. How the  _ fuck  _ did she… Was she guessing? Did she really know anything?

He moved closer to her and grabbed her shoulders, ignoring her small whimper, and he looked her in the eye. “Why do you think Batman killed me?” he asked firmly. He heard emotion in his voice, and he swore at himself silently. That was the fucking question, wasn’t it? It was Batman’s fault Jason was as good as dead for so long. Bruce abandoned him. He left him for the Joker.

“He killed you,” Charlotte said weakly, tears rolling down her cheeks as she met Jason’s gaze. “He let you die. He let me leave.”

“Let you leave?” he asked, tightening his hold on her. “I swear to god, if you don’t explain yourself, Parker-”

She shook her head. “He let me go. He abandoned me. I’m good as dead. I’m dead. I wasn’t good enough, and now I’m dead,” she said miserably, her voice going from weak to hardly above a whisper by the time she finished. Her head dropped down, hanging between them as she shook and took quiet breaths as she cried.

None of this made sense. How was she blaming Batman for her being dead, or was that even what she was talking about? She had to be so delirious that Jason wasn’t sure he should even be taking anything she said seriously. She’d told him the Joker had her branded, not Batman, said she didn’t know why. She didn’t have any other association with Batman. She’d been on the streets after her family kicked her out, her dad and brothers who were… trained in martial arts…

Jason gaped at her, using one of his hands to put his hand under her chin and pull her face back up to look at him. Her eyes were hazy. She was long past being able to tell what was real and what wasn’t. 

“Who are you?” he asked in a low voice.

She looked at him with her distant expression and took a small deep breath. “He killed you, the Joker killed you. But he didn’t, and Batman left you dead,” she said in a broken voice. “He let you die, and he let me die too. He let us down.” 

 

\---

 

Jason stared at her with his hands on her shoulders. His eyes were blue and wild.

“Tell him what happened,” the Joker urged. His voice was smooth. “Aren’t you going to tell your dear, long lost brother what happened?”

“He killed you,” Kat said weakly. “The Joker killed you. But.. he didn’t. And Batman left you for dead.”

The Joker clapped. “Yes, yes, good girl!” He petted Katherine’s hair, and she stared into Jason’s eyes. “Batman left him for dead, that’s right! And what else? Tell him what else Batman did, little bird.”

“He let you die,” Kat said, her voice breaking. “And he let me die too. He let us down.”

“That’s right!” the Joker said, cackling loudly. He grabbed Katherine by the throat and threw her head back against the bed behind her, causing her to choke out a short sob. “Batman failed you! He left you to die at that asylum!”

“I’m sorry,” Kat whimpered. Her posture fell, defeated. Her arms laid in her lap.

“Brucie doesn’t care about you! He would have fought you tonight if he could have! He doesn’t want you back! He doesn’t want either of you! You’re both mine!” Joker’s laugh echoed in her mind. It rang in her ears. She couldn’t breathe anymore. Maybe he was finally killing her.

Something touched her arm. It kind of hurt. Maybe she cut herself again. Maybe she’d finally bleed out and die this time.

There was a hand on her face, and she managed to open her eyes. Jason was in front of her. He looked less dead. Still a mess, bruised up, but less dead. 

If she was dying then she had nothing to lose. She used the last of her strength to put her arms around him. She’d always wanted to hug Jason. She’d always wanted to tell him she was sorry for what happened to him. She’d always wanted to tell him how she looked up to him, how much Bruce and Dick and Alfred missed him. 

Everything went dark.  _ I’m sorry. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> emotional stuff, but this rollercoaster aint over yet,,!!!
> 
> hope you've all had a nice weekend! been quite a week for me. got some stuff for my apartment dorm next year, including a delightful light-up flamingo wall decoration thing and one of those boxes that light up that you slide letters in to!! oof i'm so excited to put them up, i love decorations hello how are you today. 
> 
> also, i'm into season 3 of the flash now and sON..... OH MAn.. there's many things i like and many things i do like, and if there's two things i definitely do like, it's wally west and HR, wow what a team!


	36. Thirty-Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> hallucinations are over! needle mention, self harm mention

Her head fell back against the bed, and she started to hyperventilate. 

His head was moving too fast for him to comprehend. Things were starting to piece together that should be impossible. They shouldn’t make sense, but his mind was seeing everything as if it were clear as day.

She muttered something else, and Jason was pulled back to the situation. She didn’t seem like she was able to attack him anymore. Her legs fell from bunched up in front of her to almost cross legged, and her arms went slack in her lap. He pulled the antitoxin and needle out of his pocket, taking note of his slightly trembling fingers. He glanced at her before taking one of her arms and sliding her sleeve up her arm.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered. There was a bandage wrapped around her forearm, and upon inspection, he found a similar scene on her other arm. Jesus Christ. When did this happen? He pulled away the bandage on her right arm. There weren’t many fresh scrapes into her skin, not many that bled anyway. There were a few slices of irritated skin. Nothing looked new enough to have happened tonight. He just sighed and set up the antitoxin, glancing at her face to make sure she was still breathing, see if she was still conscious, and he carefully administered the antitoxin. 

He noticed her breathing slow down a bit as it entered her bloodstream, and he carefully removed the needle, putting it back in the wrapper and setting it and the empty bottle aside, away from anywhere she could reach, just in case. When Jason turned back to her, her eyes fluttered open, and one of her hands was rubbing her arm where he’d given her the shot of antitoxin. He stared at her. He didn’t know who he was looking at anymore… well… he knew at least that… Oh god. 

 

_ Look out, B! _

 

Just like what Dick used to say...

 

_ You’re dead. _

 

_ He did this to you. He let you die. _

 

_ Batman.  _

 

_ He let us down. _

 

There was no way. It had to be impossible. If she… She… Then he…

He put his hand on her cheek, pulling her face forward a bit so he could see her face better. She barely looked at him. Her eyes clearly couldn’t focus on him… but he was shaken to the core as he realized how foolish he’d been. He’d looked at her a hundred times in the last two weeks. He’d trained with her, evaluated her skills, and yet-

Her arms weakly wrapped around his torso as she leaned forward and… hugged him.

And Jason froze.

It was only a few seconds before she slumped and put the rest of her weight against him, probably finally passing out. 

With her arms still around him… Which meant… She had no idea who he was, did she?

And… he couldn’t explain why he found himself wrapping his arms around her. 

He struggled to breathe, but he held her as his mind raced, scolding him and screaming confusion through his brain.

If she was… then he hated her. He should kill her right now. He hated her for who she was, hated who she… But…

 

_ He let you die. He let us down. _

 

_ He abandoned me. _

 

Was she talking through hallucinations, or had she been telling the truth? Would he have just left her behind?

Did Jason… hate her? Really?

The Joker tortured him, branded him. None of it was Jason’s fault; it’d all been to hurt Batman.

The Joker found his next little bird partner and hurt her, to remind Batman he could take another one of his children away from him.

And then she showed up at Arkham Asylum… 

It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make complete sense… but… it made enough, for now.

He was such a fool.

He was a fool and he was hugging the girl he spent weeks trying to kill and years hating just for existing.

He had no idea how long it took him to manage to stand and pick her up in his (shaking) arms, and if he ever found out, it would just add to how ashamed he felt. 

He laid her on the bed and stared at her briefly before taking a deep breath and shut his eyes.

 

_ He saw her stumbling towards the edge of the roof. He could kill her from here. But he’d already gone to the trouble to rig the explosives in the surrounding buildings. She was bound to swing into one of them. And then his first issue would be dealt with and he could focus on  _ him _ … He could almost taste his revenge. _

_ One of his agents shot her a second time as she stumbled, and the Bat shouted her name.  _ His _ name.  _

_ Jason raised his pistol. He didn’t even have to aim. He looked right at her face. She looked at him. And he pulled the trigger. _

 

He carefully lifted up the edge of her shirt with trembling fingers. He pulled it up until…

Glaring at him from her stomach, gently rising and falling as she breathed, was a bullet wound scar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> time for a brief interlude...


	37. Before

Kat snuck away from the party. There were so many mingling adults and students, and she was bored of all of them. The fundraiser was to raise money so kids like her who had nothing could go to Gotham Academy purely on scholarships. She was grateful for all the rich people paying her tuition so she could live somewhere and go to school for free, but she already showed her face, and that was all that’d been required of her.

Besides, she was in Wayne Manor. When was the next time she’d get to explore a billionaire’s mansion?

So far she’d checked out some huge bedrooms that looked to be unoccupied, spares she guessed, found a charming den, and a library room that had a million interesting antiques everywhere. She was walking down the hall of the east wing trying to decide which door to go in next when she saw Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, walking out of a room down the hall. Panicking, Kat dashed into the first door on her right, quickly and quietly opening and closing the door behind her.

She looked around and found herself in a study. The walls were lined with shelves like the other library she’d found, there was a desk with some books that looked very untouched, and across the room from it was a literal piano, like a grand piano. 

Someone twisted the door handle, starting to come in after her, and she quickly dashed over to the desk and hid underneath just as someone walked in. Kat held her breath a moment before slowly exhaling, trying to be as quiet as possible. She peeked out from behind the desk and saw Dick Grayson walk over to the piano. He played three sets of paired notes on the piano, which seemed weird until the wall of books and knick knacks behind the piano shifted backwards and slid open, which was definitely weirder. Kat had to literally put her hand over her mouth to stop from making a sound, and she watched Dick walk down into the dark hallway behind the bookshelf.

She stood up and looked at the door to the hallway. She should’ve gone back… but when was the next time she’d get to explore secret rooms in a billionaire’s mansion?!

So she hurried into the hallway as the bookshelf started to replace itself on the wall, and she found herself on a stone staircase going down into… what looked kind of like a cavern. The secret door slammed shut behind her.

_ This is just like Scooby-Doo, _ Kat thought excitedly as she quietly made her way down the staircase. 

It was a long staircase, but there were parts that branched off, and as she took one, she found herself on a metal catwalk and looking around at giant memorabilia, like a massive penny and a giant (stuffed?) T-Rex. They were across the big room, and Kat could see what looked like a bunch of televisions hanging above a desk and a funky black car parked nearby. Bruce Wayne either really knew how to party, or he just had some interesting hobbies. 

She found a room in the (bunker? It looked kind of like a cave) decked out with some crazy looking gizmos and gadgets. Crazy guns and tools and stuff she didn’t even know what to name. Maybe Bruce Wayne was one of those survivalist people who was always prepared for the apocalypse or something. 

As she was heading back toward the exit, deciding maybe this amount of snooping was a little out of her league, she heard Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne talking somewhere down the hall. She stopped, listening, and realized they were getting closer.

“Shoot,” she muttered, hurrying back towards the staircase leading into the mansion and being as quiet as possible. She got back to the closed bookshelf wall and realized with dread that she had no idea how to get this thing back open. She was about to either try to run back down the stairs and hope Bruce Wayne and Dick hadn’t caught up with her or start looking for secret buttons on the wall to open it up when suddenly, the bookshelf pushed out and slid aside on its own. She thought it might have been something she did until she realized that the main butler from the party was standing in front of her, an indifferent expression on his face until he realized there was a small teenager standing in front of him, and then he raised an eyebrow at her.

“It appears we may have strayed a bit far from the party,” he told her in his proper British accent.

Before she could even think about bolting, Kat turned around at the sound of footsteps and saw Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson approaching behind her. Dick’s face went to full surprise at the sight of her, and Bruce’s was shocked and confused for a moment before it steeled into a firm expression she wasn’t used to seeing in the tabloids.

“Oh, rats,” she breathed, feeling appropriately sunken and terrified.

 

\--- 

 

The butler, Kat discovered was named Alfred, left upon Bruce Wayne’s request for him to go make sure the party was still going smoothly as Bruce led Kat to the piano bench in the room with a firm hand on her shoulder. Alfred shut the door behind him, and Dick shut the secret bookshelf door closed.

 

“I- I didn’t touch anything, I swear,” Kat said quickly, panic flooding out of her tiny, trespassing body. “I didn’t touch anything, I didn’t take anything, I promise. I don’t even have pockets, but you can search me if you-” Bruce cut her off by holding a hand up as he stood in front of her. “Want to,” she added in a very small voice. 

Bruce crossed his arms and looked at her, and Dick stood next to him in a similar stance. She seriously felt like this was some old mob movie and they were about to threaten her life. Oh crap.

“How did you get in there?” Bruce asked in a low voice. 

“I- I was wandering around because I got bored at the party, and then I saw Dick coming down- down the hall and panicked since I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to leave, and then this door was closest to me, so I ran in, but then he came in here too, so I hid under the desk. Then I heard him play something on the piano, and the bookshelf, like,  _ opened _ , which is crazy, like how often does that actually happen in real life?? Uh, and- and then I, um, he went inside the secret wall, and I-” Kat peeked at Bruce and Dick and said, “I.. I got curious and followed him in just before the wall closed up.”

Dick gave her a look that was disapproving, but Bruce’s expression was completely unreadable. 

“What did you see?” Bruce asked.

She looked up at him, wringing her hands in her lap. “S-See?” she asked. “Uh, like, a cave? Sort of? A big T-Rex thing, some  crazy gadgets and stuff like you see in action movies-” Bruce’s expression hardened more than it already was. “I didn’t touch any of it, though, I swear. Cross my heart, and all that. I was just kind of snooping around, I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have, but-”

Bruce held up his hand again, and she shut her mouth. This was a completely different Bruce Wayne than she or the world ever saw. She was extremely intimidated. Oh man, she really messed up.

“You didn’t see anything special while you were snooping around?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She inclined her head towards him a little with a confused look. “More special than a big ole dinosaur and enough gizmos to make Inspector Gadget look like a baby’s first tool box?”

Dick looked a little taken aback by her response and looked at Bruce again.

Bruce sighed and looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Please don’t tell the cops or anything, Mr. Wayne,” she said desperately. “I get in enough trouble as it is, and I really can’t lose the scholarships at the Academy. I swear I’ll never come near your house again, I’ll never tell anyone about your wild underground apocalypse bunker.”

Bruce looked up and stared at her with another unreadable expression. He took a step towards her, and Kat looked up at him anxiously.

“What’s your name?” he said finally.

“Katherine. Vantas.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen,” she said, eyes flicking over to Dick when he sighed quietly. She looked back at Bruce. “I’m a freshman, early entrance.” 

Bruce stepped back and sighed, turning away from her and rubbing the back of his neck. She felt like he was trying to decide if she got to live or die, and then she mentally slapped herself. This wasn’t an action movie or a comic book. This was real life, and she was in real trouble.

He finally looked at her again. “I’m not going to tell the police. I’m not going to tell the headmaster, either,” he said carefully, moving back towards her. “I think we both understand that it would be better to let this incident be done with than to complicate it further, right?” 

Kat nodded eagerly in response. “Yes- Yes, sir,” she said, cringing at her small voice.

Bruce nodded at her and turned to Dick. “Would you take Kat back to the party?” he asked, glancing back at her. “Just to make sure she doesn’t get  _ lost _ again.”

“Yup,” Dick said, waving at her a little and going towards the door. 

Kat hopped up and started after him, turning back to Bruce and saying, “Th-Thank you, Mr. Wayne. Sorry again,” before hurrying out of the door Dick held open.

 

\---

 

A week later, and Kat found she’d seen Dick around school more times in five days than she had in the entire school year. She didn’t know if she was just paranoid or if he was watching her, maybe even both. Either way, the incident at Wayne Manor had been eating at her all week. Clearly that bunker-cave was hiding more secrets than a big dinosaur and a hilariously oversized penny. She no longer had any idea what kind of a man Bruce Wayne was, but she knew she was afraid of him. She trusted him not to call the cops or her headmaster, but to her, that meant he could punish her worse than either of them could do to her, which definitely shook her to her core.

Her brain was such a mess, that she hardly realized that her gut had been leading her actions the Friday following the party as she found herself walking into the lobby of Wayne Enterprises. She adjusted the collar on her uniform and approached the receptionist’s desk.

A thin lady with rectangular glasses looked down at her from her computer. “Can I help you, sweetie?” she asked.

“I, uh, I’m here to see Bruce Wayne,” Kat said, her voice so weak at first she had to clear it and try again.

“Mr. Wayne doesn’t usually see people without an appointment,” the receptionist told her.

“I actually emailed- I emailed him last week about coming in for an interview. For a project at school,” Kat lied. “I don’t have a phone, or I’d pull it up, but he told me I could come in after school today.”

“What teenager these days doesn’t have a phone?” the lady said skeptically.

Kat resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “The ones who wouldn’t even have a bed to sleep in if scholarships didn’t cover their tuition and dormitory housing,” she said, trying to hide her irritation.

The woman tutted quietly. “Well, I’m sorry hon, but Mr. Wayne specifically doesn’t meet with people without an appointment. He must have forgotten to put you in his calendar. You’ll have to schedule another time to meet with him.”

Kat clenched her fists and nodded a little. “Al- Alright,” she said, pursing her lips and turning to leave. She saw a group of older kids donned in matching “Gotham U School of Engineering” shirts walk in, chatting amongst themselves and with two professor-looking people. Kat stood up straighter and quickly walked back to the receptionist. “Actually, is there a bathroom I can use real quick before I go?” she asked.

The receptionist glanced at her and then the college group that was approaching and nodded at Kat. “Around the corner on the left,” she said. Kat quickly thanked her and hurried off, turning the corner and waiting by the wall, listening as best she could to the woman talking to the college group and give them passes. Kat really hoped they would be walking this way. She wished even more that she’d changed into regular clothes before coming here. Ugh.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the college group, led by a Wayne Enterprises employee who was speaking loudly to everyone, rounded the corner. Kat listened to see if maybe they were going to meet with Bruce Wayne, but no such luck. They were there to meet with some of the engineering researchers, which made sense according to their t-shirts.

The employee had everyone get in the elevator to go up, and Kat did her best to mingle in with the group and not act like she definitely wasn’t supposed to be there. She was a foot shorter than most of the students in the elevator car, and she stuck out with her blue and white uniform. Thankfully, though, no one seemed to pay her much attention. The car stopped on their floor, and Kat managed to go unnoticed as she stuck behind, hitting the button for the top floor once she was alone in the elevator. The man’s name was on the building in big letters. His office was probably at the top, right?

It wasn’t as easy as she’d liked, however, when she got to the top floor and found herself in a hallway with more offices and hallways than she expected. She slowly started walking and looking around before flagging down an employee passing by and asking him for directions to Bruce Wayne’s office. He hardly considered her as he told her where to go, and she thanked him as she was quickly walking away before he could do a double take.

And as Kat found herself outside Bruce Wayne’s door, she was riddled with anxiety. She shouldn’t have come to see him. What if he got mad at her? What if this put her in more trouble or more suspicion with him?

She raised her hand and quietly knocked anyway; apparently her body was ignoring her head today. 

Just as she was knocking, the door opened, and she stumbled back as a tall man she recognized as Lucius Fox opened the door from within.

“... And I’ll get the improvements ready for tomorrow,” Mr. Fox was saying. He turned and saw Kat standing there, surprised, embarrassed, and still with her hand raised to knock. “Why hello there,” he said, giving her a coy smile before politely passing her and walking away.

Bruce Wayne appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at Kat. “Miss Vantas,” he greeted, an amused smirk, no doubt at her flustered composure, twitching on his lips. “I admit, this is quite a surprise. Not only because I doubt the receptionist let you up here.”

“Um,” Kat said, her face getting redder. “No, I- I, uh, kind of snuck past her and figured my way up. I guess it seems like all I do is sneak around. Um.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“So what can I do for you?” Bruce asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the frame of his doorway. 

“Actually,” Kat said, wringing her hands before putting them at her sides and looking up, meeting his eyes. “I just- I wanted to apologize again for snooping around your house. It was wrong and disrespectful, and it’s kind of really been eating away at me. I just wanted to, um, tell you to your face. I’m sorry. Again.” She paused and quickly added, “And I guess I’m also sorry for sort of sneaking around your business and coming here unannounced. I didnt- I don’t, uh, really- I kind of act on my gut a lot. And then ramble. A lot. Sorry.” She cleared her throat and forced herself to not look away. If she looked away, it would ruin her entire, messy apology.

He tilted his head at her and pursed his lips. She had zero idea what was going through his head, but she hoped whatever he was going to say was going to let her leave with a clear conscience. 

“Why don’t you come in, sit for a few minutes?” Bruce said to her, stepping back and waving her in through the doorway.

Kat blinked at him. Looked at the threshold and then back to him. “Wait- just- really?” she asked. 

Bruce chuckled and nodded, turning and walking into his office and to his desk. Kat hesitated a second before following him in and shutting the door behind her, per his request.


	38. Before

Being Robin was the best thing to ever happen to her. Soaring across the rooftops of Gotham, kicking butt, finally feeling like she belonged somewhere… The fighting gave her an outlet for frustration and her constant pent up energy, the justice they served gave her a sense of satisfaction that she was doing something useful with her life, bringing some light and hope somehow to this seriously whack city. And being with Bruce… he treated her like she mattered, like he cared about her. It took her weeks to get used to his subtle smiling, telling her she did a good job, caring when she got hurt.

It was the happiest she’d ever been. And then Bruce legally adopted her, and when she saw the finalized paperwork, she’d realized that she didn’t have to wait for the hat to drop anymore. She didn’t have to wait for him to change his mind and kick her out and decide he didn’t want her anymore because, right there in black and white with his signature at the bottom, was a promise that he wouldn’t ever give up on her. That he loved her. And boy did she love him too. She cried in his arms for ten minutes when he presented her with the papers. She used his last name proudly, constantly overcome with the relief and happiness that her little family provided her.


	39. Thirty-Six

Kat opened her eyes a little. Her whole body hurt. It must’ve been a rough night on patrol. She blinked a few times and noticed someone standing to the side. Oh, she was in bed. Maybe she’d slept in a lot and Bruce was checking on her.

She turned her head a little and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes to see Bruce more clearly. “Dad?” she said, surprised at the weakness of her voice.

He didn’t respond at first. And then a voice said, “No,” in a soft but firm voice.

Katherine froze. That wasn’t Bruce. She wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t home. Realization flooded her veins with ice. She looked up and saw Jason standing next to her bed. His arms were crossed, his expression was hard, but confusing. He didn’t look mad… he looked conflicted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> and now the chapter count and chapter titles are so much more out of sync i'M SO SORRY IT'S REALLY BOTHERING ME TOO.


	40. Thirty-Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention

Jason tore down the hallways to his quarters. He’d left Charlotte-  _ no _ . He knew that wasn’t her name. 

He’d left her in bed to sleep off her hallucinations and was now storming back to his room to confirm his sickening suspicions that had already been mostly proven by the gunshot scar.

Once he was inside his quarters, he shut and locked the door and hurried to his desk. Charlotte Parker’s file already sat out, and he quickly dug through his drawers to pull out the file he  _ thought _ he’d been done with. 

He set their portrait photos next to each other and was so mad at himself that he actually yelled and slammed his fist on the desk, slumping over and putting his hands through his hair.

Despite the fact that the photo of the girl on the left had shorter black hair and a cocky smirk on her face while the photo of the girl on the right had longer, dark blonde hair, and a younger, shyer expression on her face… It was obviously the same person as he looked at the two photos together. She was so  _ fucking _ clearly… He couldn’t fucking believe himself. 

Katherine “Kat” Vantas-Wayne, adopted street urchin to Bruce Wayne. Robin to Batman.

He’d killed her. He’d watched her and Batman go into that explosion, and he hadn’t missed the fact that Robin never showed up on the crime fighting scene again. She’d replaced him, and he’d killed her, taken out one small issue in his greater scheme to kill Batman. He took away Batman’s partner, made him lose a child  _ again _ , to break him so killing him would be even sweeter.

But now, as Jason thought back, he remembered how Batman never seemed broken  _ enough _ that the Arkham Knight killed his partner. It only fueled his anger more; he killed Bruce’s kid, took her away, and he went right back out on the streets. He didn’t act beat up or in mourning. Jason had been so floored- was that how he acted after Jason disappeared? Was that why it’d been so damned easy for the asshole to replace him? With some little girl who seemed oh so perfect as his new replaced child?  Now he knew Batman didn’t act like his child was dead because he knew she wasn’t. She was safe and sound at home while the child he left for dead at the mercy of the Joker planned his death.

But things were different now. He thought about the branding on her chest, having absolutely no doubt that the Joker was behind it and having no doubt that it was just to get to Bruce. The Joker kidnapped, tortured, branded one Robin, and then he branded and partially mutilated the new Robin just to show that he could. He didn’t know what all Katherine had been lying about while she’d been living among his agents (or even if she planned that at all… there should have been no way for her to know he was busting groups of Arkham patients), but one fact ached painfully in his head. Even though she replaced him and stole his title and everything, they were both the same in the fact that they were both victims of the Joker for something that was never their fault. They were both hurt by the Joker because of his sick infatuation with Batman. They’d paid for Batman never killing the sick son of a bitch. Jason didn’t want to admit the small part of him that felt some kind of happiness that he wasn’t fucking alone in that anymore.

He remembered what she’d said while she was hallucinating.  _ He let us down _ .

She’d known who Jason was the moment she saw him, he bet. He bet she knew everything about him from the time Bruce took him in until the time the Joker kidnapped him. She’d been pretending to be a stranger for two weeks. And she’d done a damn good job. 

So when she said that Bruce let the  _ both  _ of them down… Had she meant it? How  _ did _ she mean it? Had Batman honest-to-god dumped her at Arkham Asylum for some reason? Had she snapped after not-dying in that explosion, and he’d had to get rid of her? That made bile rise sickeningly in Jason’s throat. Had she been wrongly locked up and he just left her there to rot? Abandoned her like he’d abandoned Jason?

Jason stood up and paced around the room with his hands gripping the sides of his neck, trying to take deep breaths. This was so fucked up. What was he supposed to do now? What the fuck was going on anymore?

He needed the truth. The  _ real _ fucking truth. And he was going to get it from her, whether she wanted to tell him or not. If he told her he knew who he really was, she might just open up and tell him everything. He could always threaten her into telling the truth, but she clearly lacked some sense of self preservation that was supposed to make her scared when someone put a gun or the threat of one in her face. He thought back to how she’d acted in the truck and cursed a few times under his breath. No, threatening wouldn’t work. He’d have to improvise.

He looked back over at the photos on his desk again and sighed, a very irritating thought coming to mind… Did he still hate her? Had he wrongly hated her this whole time? It wasn’t her fault Bruce abandoned Jason and left him, a child he’d inducted into his war on crime, in the hands of a sadistic sociopath. It wasn’t her fault if Batman kicked her to the curb. It wasn’t her fault he’d, apparently,  _ tried to  _ kill her. Maybe Batman got rid of her because she changed after almost dying. Maybe she wasn’t his good little sidekick anymore. Jason had seen how she shot at Scarecrow after taking the hit for Jason. She hadn’t been shooting to take him down. And he knew she knew how to aim to kill.

Maybe Katherine Vantas was more like him than he’d ever known possible. Maybe he’d been wrong to hate her.

That didn’t change the things that happened, but it changed how things could go from there on out.

He let out another frustrated sigh before leaving to go check on her. He would be there when she woke up.

 

\---

 

“You’ve been out for a day,” Jason said. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a truck. Two trucks,” Kat said, sitting up and rubbing her throbbing shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure that being hit by two trucks would have been better than the dose of Scarecrow’s hallucinogens you experienced when you took that shot for me,” he said carefully, raising an eyebrow at her.

She looked at him, confused at first. Taken for him? No, she’d taken the shot for the Arkha..m…  Kn..i.. Oh, fuck.

“Uh,” she said, feeling the anxiety start to seep into her expression. 

“I gave you a hard time about that since it was completely unnecessary for you to try and protect me like that, considering the difference in our armour,” Jason started to say, walking closer and sitting on the edge of her bed. “But then I realized that it must have been instinct for you, Right?” Kat did not like where he was going with this. She didn’t like it one bit. “You know, considering how much time you spent on a team, how much time you spent with your partner. So I get it, and you’re fine now, so all is well. I just… Hm, I know you just woke up from a pretty bad trip, but I wondered if maybe there was some stuff you could clear up for me, Katherine Vantas?

Double fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> we have now entered pre-endgame territory- you should now activate your remaining twelve seatbelts in preparation!


	41. Thirty-Eight

Dick wasn’t taking things well.

His sister was working for- with? Against? Being held captive by?- the Arkham Knight, the same guy who’d had some murderous vendetta against Robin and Batman and had literally briefly killed her once. She might be trapped among his agents, constantly in danger, now with her identity at a risk of being exposed because of a slip up while taking a shot from Scarecrow for the man who’d spent weeks going after her life.

His brother, who he’d watched get killed by the Joker in a disgusting video, was actually alive after two years of being thought dead. Oh, and he was actually the Arkham Knight and was possibly holding Kat hostage and might kill her again.

And there currently wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

Bruce and Ava agreed that going anywhere near the Arkham Knight’s base (which Dick had discovered was hidden underneath the Pottery Barn warehouse after bugging some of the agents he took out once Batman went to handle the Knight) was a bad idea, especially since Kat’s slip up might already have her on thin ice; if they showed up, it would set a lot of bad ideas in motion about her. He knew they were right, but still, how was he expected to let his two younger siblings, his baby birds, be stuck together in such a fucking terrible situation? They could be killing each other. Jason had obviously been brainwashed by the Joker- what if he was doing the same to Kat? What if she was being tortured? What if she exposed who Jason really was and his army turned on him?

Every scenario was a fucking nightmare. Every scenario set his teeth on edge and made his skin crawl with anxiety.

He was supposed to protect his little siblings. He was supposed to keep them safe.

Some big brother he was. He’d let his brother get kidnapped, tortured, fake-killed, and brainwashed. He’d let his sister get shot, blown up, temporarily killed, branded (which still made him fucking  _ sick _ ), go undercover to Arkham Asylum, get kidnapped and “recruited” by the Arkham Knight, and let her get away when she was literally in his arms.

He threw his fist into the wall, some of the rock crunching beneath his punch. The yell that went along with it felt good, but not good enough. His veins pumped furious adrenaline. He heard Ava and Bruce discussing things off behind him at the Bat-Computer. He needed to know what they were talking about, but he didn’t want to look at them.

He just wanted to find his siblings, tell them he was sorry he failed them. He just wanted to bring them home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> had to check back in w the fam back home, and they;re faring about as well as katherine lmao


	42. Thirty-Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> DISCLAIMER:
> 
> from here on out, I'll be using some dialogue from the Arkham Knight video game. It's gonna be most if not all dialogue from when Jason was with the Joker, and then some after that. I'll place this disclaimer in the beginning whenever a chapter has this dialogue pulled from the game.

“Or do you prefer Katherine  _ Wayne? _ ” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I, uh-” Kat started to say, but Jason cut her off.

“Please don’t waste time trying to deny it,” he said warily. He picked up a folder from the foot of the bed and handed it to her. “I’d really like to just get down to business.”

“Business, huh?” Kat said, taking the folder and opening it. It was a file about  _ her _ . The front sheet was a photo of her taken a few months ago, before the end of the school year, sitting outside a bookstore doing homework. She had her hair clipped out of her face, her blue glasses slightly crooked as she was looking up from the book on her table. The second page was an information sheet.  _ Katherine “Kat” Ann Vantas-Wayne (Formerly: ???). Age: 16. Gender: Female. Height: 5’4”. Hair colour: Dark blonde. Eye colour: blue. Race/ Nationality: White/ American. Abilities: General acrobatics, extensive martial arts, standard fighting, above-average strength, speed, reflexes for her age. No metahuman abilities. Alias: Robin. _ At the top of the sheet was a red stamp reading: DECEASED.

There were more papers about her, her school records, information about her and Bruce, her schedules, photos of her walking around as a civilian as well as photos of her as Robin. The last photo was her during one of her first nights on patrol as Robin, the photo capturing herself and Batman as they were swinging to another building. She felt a little sick looking at it, remembering how happy and free she felt. She felt like she didn’t even know the kid in the picture anymore.

“This is kinda creepy, you know,” Kat muttered, closing the file and looking at him.

“You know what they say about keeping your enemies close,” Jason told her with a shrug. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve spent the entire time you have been asleep fuming at myself for not seeing through your little disguise, your appearance change. All you did was cut and dye your hair and lose the glasses, and you had me fooled. You fooled everyone.” He smirked, but he sounded very bitter.

“I’m glad to know ditching my glasses was a good call, I’ve been wondering about that,” she mused, pushing the folder away on the bed and crossing her legs and arms, eyeing him carefully. “It’s also pleasing to know that after all you’ve studied me, I still was able to trick you. Point for me.”

“To be fair, I was pretty sure I killed you. I wasn’t expecting you to come back to life and infiltrate my army.”

“You can thank Alfred for that. Because you did kill me. I was dead for a few minutes or something, and he brought me back.”

Jason shook his head and crossed his arms. “Good ole Alfred. Probably the only person I still respect in that family.”

“You mean  _ your  _ family.  _ Our _ family,” Katherine said, staring him in the eyes. His smirk fell slightly. “Hey, by the way, why do you hate me so much anyway? Why am I your enemy? What did I ever do to you?” The questions she’d been asking about the Arkham Knight for months. It felt weird to know that she’d been asking the questions about her long-thought-to-be-dead older brother this whole time.

Jason took a breath and looked away from her eyes. “You replaced me,” he said simply, hesitating before continuing. “I’d been in the Joker’s disgustingly greasy grasp for nine months, thinking every single waking moment that any second, Batman would come rescue me. My father would come save me from this sociopath, take me out of that living hell.” Kat’s heart was slamming in her chest, she heard it in her ears, as Jason spoke slowly. “And then the Joker brought me a photo, said he didn’t  _ really _ want to show me, but I needed to know. Imagine my surprise to see some girl wearing a version of  _ my _ costume, the costume that was cut and bloodied and dirty on my body that’d been there for  _ months _ -” He stopped to take a deep breath, sighing and looking back up at her. “I hated Batman for abandoning me. I hated him for giving up on me. I hated him for replacing me, for confirming my fears that I didn’t mean as much to him as I wanted to. And I hated you. I hated you because you were this prim and proper girl he replaced me with, the kid who apparently was good enough and talented enough to replace me no problem. Eventually I felt sorry for you, because you didn’t know how little you meant to him, how easily he could throw you away-”

“I know you’re explaining here, but I- listen, man,” Kat said, looking down at his chest. “I don’t know how much of that you still believe, but trust me, he didn’t just adopt some “prim and proper girl”, or whatever. He took in a suicidal fucking mess of a thirteen year old who had no money, no family, nowhere to live except the dorm at Gotham Academy she barely scraped by in, like-” Kat shook her head and rubbed her arms. She looked up at his face again. “It took months of training for him to even let me put on the suit. Months of training with him and Dick and hearing him tell me over and over the rules he put in place because of what happened to you-” Jason scoffed, and Kat sat up straighter. “I’m not fucking joking. You think he gave up on you? He’s never been able to get over you, jackass. The Joker sent him a video faking your death. Dick saw it. Alfred saw it. I saw it.” She stared right into his eyes, the smirk gone from his lips as she said, “I watched as a fifteen year old boy sat defeated in a chair while the Joker said, ‘ _ Do you have something to tell the nice man, Jason?’” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> alright, there's another batch of chapters! time to get back to the old grind or whatever, as they say. 
> 
> i'll be back in a few days with more!
> 
> p.s. i tried the cherry cola oreos today, and ummm i love the pop rocks in the icing but the cherry was gross lmao so there's my oreo review for the day, go try the cherry cola oreos, especially if you like cherry flavour


	43. Forty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER:
> 
> Some dialogue used from the Batman Arkham Knight video game.

Jason’s blood went cold as he heard his voice say, “ _ My name is Jason Todd. _ ”

Katherine stared at him, her eyes looking achingly familiar to the ones he saw in the mirror. She held tight onto her arms crossed over her chest as she said, “He asked you who you hate, and you said-”

“Batman,” Jason said. He shuddered as he was transported back to that fucking room. He glared at the bed, then back up at Katherine. She shouldn’t know any of that. It was hazy to remember, he’d been doped up so many times. She shouldn’t have been able to recite the Joker’s words.

Katherine nodded once. “He asked Batman’s identity, you started to tell him. And he shot you in the head. He said,  _ ‘I never did like a tattle tale,’ _ as your dead body laid behind him on the floor.”

Jason felt himself shudder again and goosebumps rise on his skin. “You said he sent that in a video?” he asked. Katherine nodded. “How many times did you watch it?”

Her expression hardened, but he saw a bit of fear in it, too. “Once,” she said, her voice a bit softer. “It haunted me well enough after once. Bruce hadn’t even wanted me to see it, tried to hide it and delete it, but I found it first and saw it anyway. And I realized why he was so hard on me. I actually started listening to him.” She looked away from him. 

Jason didn’t want to believe her. He wanted to keep believing the only things he’d known for almost two years. Batman gave up on him. His father abandoned him. He hated the girl he’d so easily replaced him with.

But… his gut didn’t know if he should believe that anymore, despite what his heart desperately wanted to cling to. The idea that Bruce thought he was dead and mourned him was far more painful than the anger he’d already come to terms with, the anger he let fuel him. 

“You said you were thirteen when he took you in?” he said carefully. She nodded a little. “How old are you now? Really?”

“I just turned sixteen,” she said, looking back up at him cautiously.

He shook his head. “He takes us- fucking  _ children _ \- and puts us into this war on crime he fights. And then we get killed, kidnapped, tortured. He doesn’t fucking learn,” Jason said in a low tone, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair,

“Is that what you’re most mad about?” she asked tentatively.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m most mad about now,” he told her honestly, looking her right in the eye. “Tell me this: how did you really end up at Arkham Asylum? And don’t try pulling any fucking lies anymore, I swear to god. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

 

\--- 

  
She believed him. But still, she didn’t know how much of the truth she should tell him. It wasn’t really lying if she  _ forgot _ to mention a few things, right? How much could she leave out? How much did she want to leave out..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> uploading these in between struggles of trying to fill out student loans for the upcoming school year. oof. i need to start playing the lotto


	44. Forty-One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention

“I was stopping some petty thieves from robbing a laundromat,” she started slowly. “I returned the cash and scanned the place for their DNA, and your DNA showed up. I showed it to Bruce, and started investigating you, trying to figure out how you could possibly be alive.”

Jason could have shot himself in the face right then. He always wondered if it was bad to use the public laundromat. He only did it now and then, something that reminded him of times he used to go there with his mother on laundry day. Apparently it had bit him in the ass in an unexpected way.

“So I started doing more research about your disappearance, the Joker and his activity around that time, but then this asshole called the Arkham Knight showed up and started trying to kill me,” she said, raising her eyebrows at him. Jason really had to give it to her- she was a perfect Robin with the fact that her sass, snark, and sarcasm was consistent no matter how much her life was being threatened. 

“Go on,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Batman found out the Joker was being held at Arkham, but they wouldn’t let him talk to the Joker, so I got suspicious. I was going around town looking for more evidence you were alive when the Joker’s goons jumped me and gave me this,” she said, pulling the neck of her shirt down a little to show the top of her brand. “They told me it was a reminder for Batman that Joker had already taken one of his birds, and the second one was already good as his. The bat was so I would- so I would remember whose fault it was when I got hurt.”

The way she said it told Jason she was quoting the thugs directly. “Of course he did it to you, just to get to Batman,” Jason grumbled, frustrated. He tapped his own branding on his cheek. “I’m familiar with that unfair and misplaced punishment. Keep going.”

Katherine sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. “I realized that the Joker had something else going on if he was able to control his goons and spy on me and Batman from supposedly within Arkham. So I told Bruce I wanted to go inside Arkham to either figure out what the Joker was up to and find him or find clues about you because I knew there was something in that hellhole we were missing.”

“You must really be stupid to think you could go into Arkham, find the Joker, and just interrogate him alone,” Jason said with a scoff.

“I had plans that usually didn’t involve talking to him directly, thanks,” Katherine said acidically, rolling her eyes again. 

“So he just let you go do that? Just let you go  _ undercover _ in the prison-hospital for the criminally insane?”

“Yeah right. No, of course he fucking didn’t. He yelled at me, told me it was stupid and I must be stupid for even mentioning that idea to him,” she said bitterly. He didn’t have to wonder if that was the truth or not. He could feel the hurt coming off her in waves. “He told me not to. So I did it anyway. I snuck in, gave myself a record, spoke up a reputation, figured out how to blend in with the crazies. And I knew Bruce couldn’t come get me till I wanted him to, because it would look suspicious for him to come bust out some rando-suicidal-crazy teenager. But... He never even tried.” She took a deep breath. “So I just… did what I went there to do. Your people busted me out before I could get out myself.”

Jason’s mind was swimming trying to keep up with everything. “Let me get this straight: he told you not to go to Arkham to look for the Joker, you did it anyway behind his back, let them think you were suicidal and psychotic, let them abuse and drug you as you tried to find the Joker in there, all the while Bruce never came to try to get you out, and then you were taken by my agents?” he said, counting out the points on his fingers.

“Pretty much."

Jason shook his head and inclined his head towards her, frowning as he stared into her eyes. “Why the  _ fuck _ would you go through all that shit just to see if the Joker was in there?”

Katherine sat up a bit straighter and shot a dead serious look right back at him. “Because I was trying to find  _ you _ .”

 

\---

 

Bruce sat at the desk of the Bat-Computer. He held his head in his hands with his elbows on the table.

Below his face on the desk were two photos: the first was of himself, Dick, and Jason during Jason’s first Christmas at the manor, and the second was just after Katherine got her glasses, Alfred had taken a photo of her showing them off, a nervous smile on her face.

Dick was furious with him. Jason probably hated him and wanted him dead. Kat was in danger for so many reasons, he forced himself not to count them out again.

How had he let his kids get into so much trouble? What kind of father was he? Two of his kids could end up dead by the time he got everything figured out. How could he let this happen? How could he fail his children like this?

What could he do to fix things and save his kids?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> gonna try to slow my updates instead of just releasing like five all at once, maybe a few spread thru the day ??


	45. Forty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> physical abuse mention, self harm mention

Jason stared at her. “You did all that trying to find  _ me _ ?” he asked slowly, crossing his arms tight across his chest, not wanting to believe her. If she was telling the truth… He had no idea how to feel. She’d admitted herself to Arkham Asylum, probably the closest thing to hell on earth, planned to investigate the Joker alone somehow, and had spent the last two weeks working for the man who  _ literally killed her _ … just… for  _ him… _

Katherine nodded once, giving him a hard look, daring him to question her again.

He pursed his lips, feeling his heart beating faster than it should in his chest. “Why?”

“Why?” she repeated, raising her eyebrows. 

“You never knew me. You had no reason to do all that shit to find me. Why the fuck did you go to all that fucking trouble to try and find me on a fucking whim? Why were you the one taking all these risks just to track me down? Why did you do it? Why you? Why not  _ him? _ ” Jason felt his anger rising as he spoke, his pulse racing faster, and his face heating up as he heard his mouth spit out those last three words. She looked just as surprised as he was to hear them, her cheeks going red as her eyebrows went up a bit. She even sat back a little and finally dropped her eyes from his, looking somewhere on his chest instead.

He wanted to take back the last question. But he couldn’t. He hated that he needed to know why. Why this girl who’d replaced him, stolen his name and job and father--

If Bruce had ever looked hard enough, maybe he would have found Jason before the Joker had gotten into his head so much. If Dick had ever looked hard enough, he would’ve found him faster than Bruce. 

But neither of them did. Neither of them cared enough to look hard enough for him.

And yet, this girl did. This sixteen year old, only barely older than he was when the Joker kidnapped him, was willing to do shit his father and brother apparently hadn’t been willing to do. She… It didn’t make sense. It made absolutely no sense. He didn’t understand.

Katherine’s expression went from surprised to a little sad. He didn’t see pity, exactly, but a disappointed sadness. She finally looked back up at his eyes. “He  _ did _ look for you, you know,” she said quietly. “I know that was… before me, but I looked through all his files. I looked at all his notes, read everything he ever did to search for you, every criminal he visited and interrogated, everywhere he searched and looked. Dick looked too, I looked through his stuff, too-”

“But why were  _ you _ the one who found me?” Jason demanded again.

“I- I got lucky-” she started to say.

“Bullshit,” Jason said, shaking his head angrily. He pointed at her, saying, “Either of them could have taken that DNA scan lead you found and came searching again.” He scooted closer to her on the bed until there was only a foot of space between them. “So I want you to tell me why it was you who made it this far and found me.”

She stared him in the eyes with a nervous look in her eyes. She sighed and bit her lip as she bent her head down and rested her chin on her knees, looking at his chest again. “I guess I have nothing left to lose,” she muttered, rubbing her face with one hand and sighing again. “Fine. I guess I just…” She looked back up at him. “My entire training was fueled by Bruce telling me things over and over to keep me in line so I wouldn’t end up dead or worse like you. It was all how he wouldn’t fail me like he failed you. Still, he told me about you sometimes, he’d tell me more when I asked. He showed me photos, told me things you liked to do, all that stuff. Alfred and Dick told me more sentimental stuff, like family things during holidays and stuff.” She hesitated and looked away from his eyes but still on his face. “I always wanted to meet you. I always looked up to you, and I- I found out you were alive, and I guess I thought- I- I-”

She seemed at a loss for what to say next. “You’d what, save me? Bring me home?” he prompted, surprised at the irritation in his voice. 

She shut her eyes tight. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I really didn’t think about… I guess my goal was to get you home, but as I spent time in Arkham and- and after meeting you here, I realized… I didn’t know if that was plausible anymore. I didn’t know if you remembered home, or if you  _ wanted _ to go home…” She rubbed her eye, and he realized tears had welled up in the corners of her eyes. “And now, like, pretty much everything’s just gone to shit, so I really don’t know what to do now.”

Jason looked down at the bed between them and hunched his shoulders a little. His head and heart were so confused. He couldn’t imagine how messed up this kid was to have looked up to him, the biggest fuck-up a kid could be for so much of his life… Alfred must’ve really talked him up. Still. He felt embarrassed by her confession, but also touched. Before all this mess with Scarecrow, and despite his defensive distrust in her, he sincerely had grown to like her. She was quirky, sarcastic, skilled, confident, and he generally enjoyed talking to her and training with her, even though a lot of the time he had been trying to gauge her skills and allegiances. When he discovered her identity, he’d felt a spark of betrayal, but now his gut told him that the only things she’d been lying about had been her name and past. Jason wasn’t sure if she could fake her personality if she wanted to. Which meant he’d come to genuinely like the person he’d spent months hating and trying to kill, which made him feel very conflicted.

He sighed and decided it was too late to focus on how he used to feel about her. It would just complicate things further. He liked her now, he could relate with her about so many things, and he felt for her with lots of the hurt that came with being Robin and Bruce’s kid. She’d liked him even before she met him, and she didn’t show any signs of having changed her opinion of him. The only thing he wasn’t sure about so far…

“And how do you feel about Bruce now?” he asked, his voice quieter than he expected. 

She looked up at him, thinking about her answer. “How do I feel about him?” she repeated carefully.

“When you were hallucinating, you said he abandoned you, he left you to die, just like he left me to die,” Jason told her, watching her eyes widen a bit. “Those were your words. I don’t know what you were seeing, but that’s what you told me. You said he let you go, he abandoned you like he did me. You said, ‘ _ he let us down.’ _ Did you mean that?”

Katherine looked past him, clearly surprised by her own words, and she quickly scrubbed her cheeks with her hands as more tears spilled down her face. 

“How do you feel about Bruce?” he asked again, pressing her for an answer.

“I- I don’t know,” she whispered, putting her face in her hands. “I- I- He-”

“I haven’t heard anything about Bruce Wayne’s missing daughter since the Arkham breakout. Do you think he has been looking for you?” he asked. “Do you think he heard your slip up the other night and knows that was you? Do you think he feels betrayed if he thinks you’re working for me, for the Arkham Knight, now?”

Katherine took a deep breath, trying to calm down, peeking up at him, her expression hard again. “What do you want me to say?” she asked carefully. “What answer do you want from me? That I hate him as much as you do? It’s not that simple.”

He rubbed his forehead and glared above her. Is that what he wanted her to say? Why did he care if she hated Bruce as much as he did? 

_ Because then I finally won’t be completely alone, _ a part of his mind told him.  _ Because if she hates him too, then I can trust her. Bruce would’ve hurt her like he hurt me. Someone will finally get it. _

“I just need… to know if I can trust you,” he said quietly, flicking his eyes back to hers.

“What does that have to do with Bruce?” she asked, and when Jason didn’t answer, she sighed quietly. “You can trust me,” she said firmly. “I don’t have a reason to lie to you anymore, do I? You already know everything. I’ll tell you anything else I can answer.”

Jason stared at her, trying to decide if he believe her… His head didn’t want to.

But his gut told him to trust her.

 

\---

 

Kat watched Jason have an internal debate inside, she saw conflict in his eyes as he stared at her.

Finally he sighed and stood up, stepping away from the bed a few paces with his back to her and a hand in his hair. He turned around and looked at her. “My plans have always centered around killing him. Will you help me?”

Kat was afraid he’d ask that. “I don’t know,” she told him, only half honestly. Her mind screamed  _ no _ in every language she knew (which was only a few). Of course she couldn’t  _ help him _ . But her feelings and emotions were so torn and confused, and she didn’t know how to not make Jason run away from her.

She couldn’t help him kill Bruce. And she honestly thought, deep down, he didn’t really want to kill Bruce. He just wanted something to be done about how betrayed he felt. The Joker made him believe that Bruce had given up on him, replaced him so easily… And in a way, Kat realized she’d started to feel a bit angry at Bruce for not continuing to look for Jason after the Joker sent that video. She’d never thought about it till now (and she didn’t  _ think _ Jason was influencing how she felt about this), but the Joker sent him a video killing his son, and he didn’t go try to find his body. If he had, maybe he would have found Jason.

She couldn’t go on thinking about what would have happened if anything had been done differently. She’d end up as mad as Jason if she did, and someone in this family needed to try and have a level head. She sure wasn’t the best candidate, but she might be the only one able.

Jason pulled her out of her thoughts, shaking his head and putting his face in his hands. “You’re making this so complicated,” he muttered weakly.

“You don’t have to kill him,” Kat said carefully, dropping her legs off the side of the bed so she could fully face him. “We could talk, or-”

“ _ No, _ ” Jason snapped, looking up at her and pointing a finger at her, but she heard fear and anxiety more than anger when he did. He was afraid to talk. Shooting, action was much easier. “I will not talk to-  _ no. _ ”

Katherine sighed and dipped her head down, looking at her hands in her lap.

“Just- I need to go- go think and work some things out. Don’t leave the bunker,” he said, turning and starting to walk away from her bed towards the door.

She had no idea what made her speak again, she couldn’t explain why she said, “I… saw the Joker.”

He froze and turned back to look at her. “What?” he asked carefully.

Kat looked up at him warily. “You said when I was hallucinating, you didn’t know what I was seeing,” she explained quietly. “It was him. The Joker.” She looked back at her lap and watched as she clenched her fists. “He… taunted me. Said things. I know it wasn’t real, but…” She heard Jason sigh quietly, but she didn’t look up. “He’s haunted me since the day I saw him kill you. He torments me in real life, in my head, doesn’t matter. I can’t tell Bruce or he’ll freak out. Dick thinks it doesn’t happen anymore because I told him so. But…” She looked up at him, unable to read his expression. “I… I have a feeling you know what I’m talking about,” she said, trying to keep her voice from showing how close to tears she was. “We’ve gone through different things, Jason, but… that doesn’t mean you’re alone... in what you feel, what you’re dealing with.”

She stared at him, his face looking tired, sad, confused, and like he was holding himself back from doing something. He dropped his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose (not unlike how Bruce did when he struggled with internal conflicts, decisions), letting out a slow breath before looking up and walking back over to her.

She almost flinched when he stood in front of her and slowly reached out towards her. She watched his hand as it carefully picked up her left arm, and her face heated up when his thumb gently brushed across the healing marks mixed with scars on her arm. She nervously looked up at him, and his expression alone almost made her start to cry.

“Please don’t do this again,” he said quietly, and his face said the rest,  _ Talk to me if you feel like doing this again. _

Her pulse was racing as she swallowed hard and nodded once slightly, dropping her head back down and nodding again as she lifted her right hand to her face to rub away the tears about to fall from her eyes. 

Jason squeezed her arm gently before letting go of her and going back to the door. The sound of him leaving crushed any control she had left to keep herself from crying. Kat just curled up on the bed and cried quietly, completely emotionally drained and wanting nothing but to not be alone.

 

\---

 

Jason had to hold himself back from hugging her. He couldn’t explain why he wanted to, why he  _ needed  _ to, but things were still too much in the air for his liking to do anything that would hinder him emotionally any more than he already was.

So he made himself drop her arm and leave, quietly stalking back to his quarters to try and figure out what the hell he was going to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> this got me so emo, oof


	46. Forty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: 
> 
> some stuff referenced in here is from the Batman Arkham Knight game

Kat spent the next three days mostly in her room, easily being able to do so under the excuse of recovery. Most people greeted her with either the same pleasant disposition as always or a new, impressed version of themselves who had heard that she’d taken a shot from Scarecrow for the Arkham Knight. She hadn’t even considered that earning her rep points back with the other soldiers, but it was an amusing surprise. 

The only person who knew she even had any actual trouble from the toxin (aside from Jason) seemed to be Christina, who she’d had a required check-up with once she’d recovered from her conversation with Jason. Christina required her to come in several other times that day and three times a day since, despite Kat insisting that the only remaining effects of the toxins were a light but annoying headache and the soreness and care of the actual wound on her shoulder where she’d taken the dart of toxin. Since she’d had to take off her long sleeved shirt for Christina to care for her shoulder, she was also the only person (again, aside from Jason) who knew what she’d done to her arms. Christina had made a small comment about “guess they found a reason to drug and abuse you at Arkham, huh?” but didn’t judge or make further comments other than asking if Kat needed any help caring for the cuts and scrapes.

Kat let herself have time after Jason left her to cry and feel bad for herself, but the moment she calmed down, she took a deep breath and decided there would be plenty of time to cry once she either figured everything out or was dead. Hopefully the former. 

She spent the rest of the time she holed up in her room exercising and stretching her very sore body. She hadn't been in a real proper fight since fighting people at Arkham, and she was lucky she hadn’t gotten shot by some random goon for being so out of practice.

It took her the three days of working herself out to decide to hit the actual training room again. She still waited till it was late at night so there would hopefully be less people out and about. As she ran through her unarmed training routine, she found herself desperately wishing Ava was with her. Her best friend in the world, the only person she could tell everything no matter what to. She worried about Bruce, Alfred, and Dick worrying about her too much, but she knew Ava would always back her up, trust her to do the right thing.

Ava was probably regretting trusting her so much now. 

She remembered how annoyed Ava looked the last time she saw her (that was two months ago, right? Maybe more? Kat had absolutely no idea. It felt like forever.), just before Batman dropped her off at the asylum. Kat knew the annoyance was genuine but also covering the intense worry her friend was feeling for her. She couldn't imagine how annoyed and worried Ava was now. She wondered if Ava’s crazy brain knowledge knew anything about the stuff going on, but even if she did, Kat had a feeling Ava was still worrying plenty and preparing more and more each day to really beat Kat up when she saw her again.

_ If she sees me again _ , a part of Kat’s mind said unhelpfully. 

“Shut up,” Kat muttered to herself, sighing and sitting down, rubbing her forehead and adjusting her ponytail.

She would see everyone again. She would help pull her family back together. She had to. She couldn't fail.

She shut her eyes and saw the hallucination of Bruce telling her, inches from her face, telling her he didn't want her to come home, didn't love her anymore. She knew it was fake. Of course Bruce wanted her to come home. He was probably mad and worried that she wasn’t home yet. Still… she couldn't help that ever underlying fear that presented itself with or without Scarecrow’s toxin.

The door to the training room opened and Bailey walked inside, giving her a polite smile and wave. “Bit late for training, especially for someone recovering like yourself,” he said warmly. 

Katherine stood up and shrugged a little. “Just a shoulder wound. Better to work it out as it heals than to wait around for it to stop hurting and let the muscles get stiff,” she said simply.

Bailey laughed a little. “You're young enough that it wouldn't happen so quickly, but I understand the impatience, wanting to get back into action.” Kat nodded and watched him walk over to her. “Assignment from the Knight,” he said, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket and handing it to her. “We have a big job in a few days, and he wants you on the team again. Guess you impressed him.”

“Guess so,” Kat said, opening the envelope and reading the assignment paper. It was identical in layout and content to the one She received sending her on the previous mission. At the bottom was a handwritten note in blue reading,  _ “Come to my quarters ASAP.” _ She folded the vote back up, put it back in the envelope and looked back at Bailey. “What's this mission gonna be?”

“Securing a warehouse,” he said vaguely. “Specific details are classified until the briefing that day.”

“Great,” Kat said, resisting the urge to sigh. Maybe Jason would tell her. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Quarter to one in the morning, yeesh. “Was there anything else?” she asked Bailey, raising her eyebrows a little.

“Nope,” he said, giving her a weird look with a smirk she didn't understand. Ugh, why did everyone in this business have to know how to look so suspicious all the time? “Good luck with your exercises, Parker,” he told her as he went back to the exit. “I'll see you tomorrow after lunch for training.”

“Gotcha,” she said, waving as he left. Once he was gone, she groaned and looked at the envelope. He said “ _ ASAP _ ”, and she didn't have anything better to do…

Ten minutes later found her standing outside the Arkham Knight’s room. She looked around the empty hallways for a third time before sighing and lifting her hand to the door and knocking. “Knock knock… It’s me,” she said, wincing at how lame it sounded and crossing her arms over her chest.

She almost left after half a minute of no response, thinking he might actually be asleep, but then the door opened and revealed Jason with wet hair, a towel around his shoulders, a black shirt he was rolling down as if he had only just put it on, and dark red joggers. Apparently she’d caught him just out of the shower.

“I- Uh, you said, ASAP,” she said simply, pointing to the envelope in her hand. “So. Um. Here I am, but- is this- I can come back-” She forced her mouth shut. She really needed to learn how to stop rambling. 

He seemed to be amused by the smirk on his face, simply stepping aside so Kat could come in. She quietly shuffled past him and looked around the room. It was a fair, master-sized bedroom with a bed, dresser, and night table in one corner, a desk, bookshelf, filing cabinet, and small sofa on the side of the room where the entry door was. An open door to his bathroom was to her left on the wall parallel the one his bed was against. 

“Nice space,” she mumbled, crossing her arms tighter and glancing at him as he shut and locked the door behind her.

“Thanks, I do my best,” he said, walking over to his desk and ruffling his hair with his towel. “When I gave that letter to Bailey earlier, I didn't expect him to give it to you till tomorrow.”

“He found me in the training room,” she said simply with a shrug. 

“Do you ever train in the daytime?” he mused, leaving the towel partially on his head as he sifted through a few papers on his desk.

“Not here,” she said, going over to him. “I get enough of your agents watching me during the mandatory stuff, don't feel like interacting with anyone outside of that, really.”

“So she's not a social butterfly. Interesting,” Jason said as he leaned against his desk and looked at her.

“Only with a mask on,” she returned. 

He chuckled lightly and crossed his arms after setting his towel on the desk. “I want you at my side on the mission in a couple days.”

“For my skill, trust issues, or something else?” she asked skeptically.

“A bit of everything,” he said. “I expect Batman to show up.” He eyed her as if that was explanation enough.

“You gonna try to kill him?” she asked bluntly.

He raised an eyebrow. “Would you try to stop me?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, shifting her arms across her chest.

Jason laughed a little and looked down, rubbing his face. “Okay. I didn't expect you to be so honest.” He looked back up and gave her a serious expression. “Why would you stop me? After everything that's happened? Everything he's done?”

“Cause I think there's been serious miscommunication here,” she said, frowning a little.

“Miscommunication?” he said slowly, enunciating the word clearly. 

“Between everyone. I mean, I told you everything the other day, everything you asked about, but I can tell you're still stuck with a lot of the stuff the Joker told you-”

“Because the Joker-”

“I  _ know _ what he did to you, Jason, I know what-”

“He kidnapped me, held me captive in some fucking torture room under an abandoned wing of Arkham,” Jason said, his voice dark and angry as he stormed over until they were inches apart. “He beat me, cut me, tortured me,  _ spoke to me _ , every. Fucking.  _ Day _ . For a  _ year.  _ Don't you look at me and try to tell me you  _ know _ anything about what he did to me,” he snarled.

Kat stared up at him, frowning, her arms clenching her biceps tight and resisting the urge to step away from him. “Did he tell you you're pathetic? That Batman didn't care about you?” Kat asked carefully, hating that she could hear the nervousness in her voice. “Did he tell you Batman would never come?”

“He  _ didn't _ -”

“Did he show you pictures of me and tell you how much Batman seemed to prefer me? Or that I was more skilled? Or less skilled cause I’m a girl? Did he torment you by talking about Batman who never came to rescue you?”

“You need to stop-” Jason tried again, but Kat stepped forward and forced her arms down to her sides, fists clenched.

“Tell me what he did to you, Jason. Tell me everything that happened. You just want justification for doing something that seems like a good revenge plot, but it's not,” she snapped. “Killing him isn't going to change that Joker tortured you. It isn't going to change that he sent Batman a video of him killing you. It's not going to change the fact that Bruce buried you after that and tried to mourn his son. Maybe he shouldn't have given up, but maybe he just wanted to believe you were finally at peace. None of that changes the fact that killing him isn't going to bring justice for the fact that he couldn't save you. Killing him isn't going to make it hurt less-”

Jason cut her off by shoving her away from him. She stepped back a bit, but he gave her no time to recover before grabbing her by the front of her shirt and glaring at her. Kat grunted as he yanked her close again and lifted her hand to adjust her glasses before putting her hand over his on her shirt. 

“Watch yourself,” he said dangerously through his teeth. His green eyes now were completely different from how she’d ever seen them look before in Bruce’s photos. They were dark, and angry, and  _ hurt _ , no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“Or what?” Katherine said, her tone low. “You gonna hit me?” She lifted her hand and took off her glasses, holding them out to her side, inviting him. “Go ahead, Jason. I’ll even let you get in a punch before I fight back-”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he demanded, jerking her forward a bit more. 

“You want a list or just what’s-” Jason’s fist flew up and connected with her cheek. He held onto her as she lifted her hand not holding her glasses up to her cheek and rubbed where he punched her. “Do you feel better?” she mumbled, a small glare coming from her blue eyes.

“Are you trying to accomplish something by antagonizing me like this?” he snapped.

“Not really. I didn’t think anything that far through,” she said honestly. “I guess I’m just trying to get you to think about everything you do and don’t know before you go trying to kill Batman.”

Jason dropped her, and Kat stepped back to regain her balance. She put her glasses back on and rubbed her face again. “You can tell yourself whatever you want. The Joker told you some truths, and he told you a lot of lies. The biggest lie he told you was whatever made you think Bruce didn't care about you anymore,” Kat said carefully. She stared Jason in the eye. “I know you're angry and hurt. You have every right to feel that way, but-”

“You're still loyal to that asshole, aren't you?” Jason said quietly. glaring at her. “Only loyal to him, which means I have no reason to trust you.”

“I’m loyal to my family. That includes you, dingus,” Katherine said, crossing her arms again. “I'm not going to betray you. I'm not going to stab you in the back. If you want me by your side to make sure I do what you tell me to do, fine. I’m not going to help you kill Batman. I can't. I don't know what goes on in your head, Jason, but my gut tells me you don't want him dead either.”

“Your gut is naive then,” he said coldly. 

“Maybe,” she said, lifting her arms up in a shrug. “Do you still want me to go with you on this mission?”

Jason turned away and paced for a moment before looking at her, apparently trying to decide that for himself. “Yes,” he said finally. He walked back up to Katherine and stared down at her. “I want you to see him for the monster he is.”

Kat stared at him, her arms itching to cross over her torso, her legs itching to step away. She forced herself to stare into his green eyes and made her lips respond to him. 

“And you?” she asked finally.

“Me?” Jason said, eyebrows furrowing just a bit in confusion.

“How do you want me to see you?” she clarified, somehow keeping her voice from showing how much her anxiety was growing.

Jason pursed his lips, holding eye contact for another moment before looking down and sighing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> a sibling tiff in this chapter, those rowdy batkids always up in arms bout one thing or another, smh
> 
> some new people have left kudos on the fix recently- so to you guys and any new readers: thank you, hello, and welcome!!! do please enjoy your stay!!!
> 
>  
> 
> also!! if anyone watches the flash, Ava's powers are similar to cisco's vibe powers, just as a further kind of clarification for how her stuff works I guess lmao


	47. Forty-Four

“The Arkham Knight is making a move tonight. He’s sending his militia to secure a warehouse previously held down by the Joker before the Joker went missing two weeks ago-”

“Hold on, hold on. Pause.” Ava paced over and set a hand down on the desk of the Bat-Computer. “You only said, like, two sentences, but I need to do some quick breakdown. Do we know or have any way of knowing if Kat is going to be there?” 

Bruce shook his head. “We have no way of knowing before we get there. Last time, she was wearing less armour than the rest, probably for maneuverability, but it gives me an easy way to identify her.” 

“Great, okay,” Ava said, running a hand through her hair. “Now, since when has the Joker been  _ missing _ ? I know you just said two weeks, but that freak is always either on or off the grid, isn’t he?”

Bruce pulled up a few things on the monitors of the computer- recent Joker sightings and news. “Technically, the last word we’ve had from him was about three months ago when he sent goons to… attack Robin,” he said, hesitating and shutting his eyes before finishing the sentence. “Once I went to Arkham while she was inside, she told me she hadn’t found the Joker yet, so I returned that night as Batman and shook down some guards until they told me that they hadn’t had the Joker in custody in over a year, they’d been paid off to lie about him being locked up.”

“So Kat put herself in that shithole for nothing? That’s what you just said to me?” Ava said, realizing her hands had started shaking and tucking them under her arms. 

“If Jason really is the Arkham Knight, then it would make sense that he’s had something to do with the Joker’s inactivity, disappearance,” Bruce continued, ignoring her. He really couldn’t get into that right now. “We can assume if he makes an appearance himself, he might even be keeping the Joker there locked up.”

“Why would he be keeping the Joker locked up? I thought he was working with the Joker?” Ava asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she read the screens.

Bruce looked up at her. “I was hoping you might be able to provide some insight with that, actually.”

Ava pursed her lips. “Information with this whole situation has been… Come and go, I guess is a way to describe it,” she said slowly. “I haven’t had any new information coming to me since the stuff connecting Jason and the Arkham Knight, but… The only reasons why he would have the Joker I can come up with are things you already know.” She pulled her laptop out of her bag on the floor and set it down, opening it and clicking around once she logged in. “The Joker kidnapped Jason, tortured him and did God knows what to him for probably around a year,” she said. “So I'm sure he has plans for the Joker for revenge similar to how he had those plans for attacking you and Robin. So if he does have the Joker locked up somewhere, he's probably got plans to kill him.”

Ava showed him her laptop screen. She had a map of the warehouse he had listed on one of his screens pulled up. “It's a two-story building with a basement. Because hostages are always kept in the basement, if the Joker is being kept there, he's probably in the basement.” She looked at Bruce. “What’s your priority?”

What a good question. He had no idea. He knew he needed to stop the Knight (until he knew the Knight’s identity  _ for sure _ , until he saw his face with his own eyes, Bruce could  _ not _ call that man his son's name), but he also needed to make sure Katherine wasn't going to be killed for the incident with Scarecrow. He also probably needed to make sure the Joker got out alive, but… If a life had to be lost, Bruce would gladly let it be that monster.

“Information,” he said finally. “Recon. I need to learn what the Knight and Kat are up to without blowing her cover or getting either of them killed.” 

“Okay,” Ava said, clearly unsatisfied with his response. “These will be your best entry points then. The Knight will probably use this or this entrance,” she said, pointing to different parts of the map. She looked at Bruce seriously. “If you see Kat, get her out of there.”

“I can't just-” Bruce tried to begin.

“You're her father and the goddamn  _ Batman, _ for crying out loud! You can do whatever you want! And you  _ can _ get her out or at least snatch her and get a plan together.” 

“You think I don't want to bring her home? I do. And I don't know how many times we have to have this conversation,” Bruce growled, standing up and walking to begin preparing his equipment to busy himself. “I don't know the safest way to pull her out, but if I get an opportunity, I'm going to take it.”

“Let me come with you,” Ava said, and when he turned to give her a baffled expression, he could tell she’d desperately blurted it out. “Let me do something.”

“You’d get in the way. Stay here with Alfred,” he said firmly. 

Ava looked like she was going to protest something, but she gasped and stared at him before closing her computer and shoving it back in her bag.

“I have an idea,” she said quickly. “I'll be with Barbara in the clock tower. I'll be in touch!” Before he could ask anything else. she was running out of the cave, brushing past Alfred as she left.

“Should I even ask?” Alfred said as he approached the Bat-Computer with a tray of tea.

“I'm not sure I could give you an answer if you did,” Bruce said with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> just a smol chap checking up on the rest of the fam


	48. Forty-Five

Jason had barely spoken to her since their little chat in his room the other day. She’d left with more apprehension about how she was going to get out of this mess than ever.

And now she stood outside their hideout as Agent Bailey listed everyone off into their groups. Kat anxiously adjusted her glasses for the millionth time and made sure she had her special-made and very durable case for them attached to the side of her thigh harness. She wasn’t in the mood for her helmet, and she'd never needed one as Robin, therefore she wasn’t concerned about using one now. Both pistols were loaded and ready to go in their holsters, and she tapped her fingers anxiously against her sides. 

“Parker!” a metallic, filtered voice called from behind her. Super.

She turned and saw the Arkham Knight standing off near a car that could give the Batmobile a run for its money. He waved her over, so she complied, walking up to him and crossing her arms. “‘Sup?” she said casually. 

“Where's your helmet? And the rest of your armour?” he asked, looking her up and down.

Aside from forgoing the helmet, she'd also ditched most of the rest of the armour. She had the Kevlar bodysuit on with dark grey pants on, the legs tucked into the standard boots everyone else had. She had the shin guards, knee pads, and arm bracers on, but aside from that, no other armour. Her belt had her thigh harnesses attached to it, and in addition to her pistols, she'd also swiped an expanding bo staff that rested on the back of her belt at about a foot long. 

“Wasn’t feeling it,” she told him with a small shrug. “This is enough. Besides, I don't plan on taking any more shots for you since I know you've got your tough-boy armour.” She knocked on his metal breastplate for good measure.

“Does being incessantly infuriating come naturally to you?” he grumbled.

“It's a gift,” she said with a smirk. “What’s up, what’s the plan?”

The Knight sighed. “You're riding with me. Once we arrive at the warehouse, we have business to do together. When Batman shows up, he gets to join the party.”

“What’s the business?” Kat asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“A surprise,” the Knight said, waving for her to follow him to the giant car they were apparently going to be riding in.

“Still don't trust me enough to give me the juicy details?” 

The Knight opened a huge door and gestured for her to climb in. “I'm not going to answer that,” he said, watching her jump up and climb in. The thing was more like a car-tank than anything. There were three seats inside. She slid into the one that was next to the driver's seat.

He climbed in next, calling out for everyone to wait for his signal over the comms before leaving, and he slammed the car-tank door shut.

Kat watched him start working the (many) controls, checking everything, she guessed, and sighed. 

“Hey,” she said, twisting in her seat so her body faced him.

“What?” he said, keeping his eyes down.

“Look at me,” she said, sighing when he turned his head toward her. “Take the helmet off.”

He seemed like he was going to just ignore her, but she heard him sigh and watched him click something on the side of his helmet. She watched the face retract, and suddenly Jason Todd’s green eyes and wary expression met her gaze.

“I've got your back, okay?” she said, her face and voice serious. “Whatever you're planning, we can figure it out together. You're not alone anymore.” She had no idea why she was saying all this stuff to him. Her gut just told her that she needed Jason to know she was not his enemy. 

He gave her a skeptical look and turned his body towards her a bit. “You'll have my back if I go to kill Batman?”

She stared at him, unsure what to say, so she sighed and bit her lip. “I will help you resolve things.”

“Wow, that was a pretty good job of avoiding answering my question,” Jason scoffed, shaking his head. “You're full of shit.”

“ _ You're  _ full of shit!” Katherine snapped, slapping her hand against the side of his head. His reaction was an expression that told her he could've killed her right then, but she kept talking. “Do what you want, asshole, but I'm gonna do my best to make sure no one dies, including you, you jerk.”

Jason breathed angrily through his nose and clicked his helmet to cover his face again. “Don't do anything stupid or heroic,” he told her. “There's no place for that here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> pre-endgame sibling squab
> 
> ALSO YES NEXT CHAPTER OFFICIALLY BEGINS ENDGAME, HOOPLAH!!!1


	49. Forty-Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO THE E N D G A M E

“Boss, men aren't reporting from the alpha team,” Bailey told him. 

Jason smirked, looking around at his forces within the warehouse. “That means he's here. Right on time. Bailey, make sure omega team is still at their posts downstairs. Parker, go out and check on alpha team.”

“Sir,” Bailey said with a nod, waving two of his men along as he went off towards the doors to the basement. 

“You want me to go out there?” Katherine asked him, raising her eyebrows suspiciously. “With Batman?”

“You're more than capable of handling yourself for a bit,” Jason said, pulling one of his pistols out of its holster. “Don't worry, I'll be meeting up with you shortly.”

He could see her trying to work out his plan, squinting at him through her glasses before sighing and nodding once. 

“Fine.” He watched her run off around the corner before turning to the rest of the soldiers around him.

“To your posts! Give Batman a good fight. We can end this tonight,” Jason told them. They returned a mix of cheers and, “Yes, sir!”s before hurrying off to their positions. He would have plenty of time to watch Batman inevitably get through most of his men, following the trail of teams of soldiers to lead him right where Jason wanted him.

Katherine intervening or not, someone would die tonight, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be him.

 

\---

 

Batman definitely took out the alpha team. They were in unconscious or moaning heaps. She even found a few batarangs around. 

Kat really wished she knew Jason's plan. This entire mission felt like one big trap, she just couldn't figure out for who.

She didn’t really bother to help any of the guys on the ground; she didn’t see any familiar faces, and they weren’t her priority. She hoped to find Batman before Jason caught up with her, but when she really thought about it, how much good would that really do? She could make a new plan with him, but Jason would think she was really betraying him if he caught them talking.

No, Jason would need to find Batman first himself or they would find him together.

“Alpha team is down,” Kat reported over the comms. “And batarangs left in their wake.”

“He’s near. Stand by, Parker,” the Knight said. “Delta team, report.”

Three agents reported in before there was silence.

“Bailey, send your boys to check on Delta team,” the Knight ordered. 

More silence. That wasn’t good. Bailey was the Knight’s right hand guy, if he was down, Kat wasn’t sure how the rest of the night would go. 

“Damnit,” the Knight swore.

“I’ll go,” Kat said, jumping from the catwalk she stood on down to a piece of equipment and flipping back down to the ground.

“Stay put, Parker,” the Knight snapped. “Everything is under control.”

 

\---

 

“Oracle, have you been able to tap into their comms?”

“10-4 B-man,” Ava said, grinning at her laptop.

“Ava? What are you doing?” Batman demanded.

“Helping me with this mess you’re in,” Barbara said, flashing a grin at the snickering Ava and typing away on her screen. “You’re patched into the Arkham Knight’s communications link. Everything they say, you’ll be able to hear.”

“Perfect. What else are you working on?” Batman asked.

Ava moved some of her files onto one of Barbara’s holographic screens. “Nightwing is busy thwarting Penguin’s weapon dealing plots, so you won’t have him for backup,” Ava said.

“I don’t need backup,” Batman said, gruff as ever.

“So stubborn,” Ava said, shaking her head.

“As always,” Barbara mused.

“I’m not sure I like the pair of you together like this,” Batman said, grunting as he moved around the warehouse.

“I figured if I work with Oracle and know what’s going on as you move, maybe more helpful information will come to me,” Ava said. “So far, all I can really tell you is that I have a gut feeling something bad is gonna happen. Either something bad or something good.”

“Very comforting,” Barbara said.

“Look, doing my best,” Ava said with a sigh. “If you see Kat-”

“Entering the warehouse now. Batman out.” The line went silent. 

Ava sighed and Barbara gave her a sympathetic look. “Welcome to the club,” she mused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> all spices have been ADDED TO THE POT, GET READY !!!!!
> 
> also I'm just gonna post a few chapters at a time here again, I'm just so EXCITED
> 
> ALso I watched the trailer for young justice s3 and... yall.... I'm crying in this club so Hard.... the end of that season better bring me Wally west back I sweaR


	50. Forty-Seven

Batman was finishing taking out his second group of the Arkham Knight’s goons when he heard a familiar voice over their communication systems.

“Alpha team is down, and batarangs left in their wake,” Kat reported. Batman dropped his head, quietly releasing a sigh of relief at hearing her  _ alive _ . Just knowing she was still alive renewed his strength and resolve. The alpha team must have been the first group. She was close- he could turn around and go meet her right away… He knocked the last soldier unconscious as he heard the Knight respond to her.

“He’s near. Stand by, Parker,” the Knight ordered. “Delta team, report.”

Batman heard three agents report in before there was silence. He heard them around the corner report into the comms and then heard them verbally wondering what happened to the rest of their team. Batman quickly went to take care of them.

“Bailey, send your boys to check on Delta team,” the Knight’s voice said. He was met with more silence. “Damnit.” Perhaps this Bailey person was among the group he’d already taken down? Oh well.

“I’ll go,” Kat said. Batman heard a bit of eagerness in her voice- she knew he was close just like he knew she was. And the fact that she was offering to come where she knew he would be meant it must be safe for them to speak. 

“Stay put, Parker. Everything is under control,” the Knight commanded her. But would she follow his orders?

Batman stayed put long enough that if she was going to come after him, she would have. Finally, he decided to move on, leaving a batarang sticking out of the grate he disappeared into.

 

\---

 

“Parker! Over here!” Kat looked and saw an agent waving her over. Either he’d managed to hide from Batman (unlikely), or this guy was showing up late to the party.

She walked over to him, wishing his helmet was off so she could tell who she was talking to. “Where are you supposed to be?” 

“Sent to get you,” the agent said. “The Knight thinks Batman is listening to our communications, so he wants radio silence. He wants you to rendezvous with him with the frontal team.” 

Kat squinted at him. “Does he really now? Cause I’m pretty sure the Knight has said he already knows Batman is listening in, and he told me to stay here,” she said, crossing her arms. “If I go on the radio and ask the Knight what he wants me to do, what’s he gonna say?”

The agent hesitated before dropping his head and sighing. “Okay,” he said, looking back up. 

The next several seconds went by quickly as the agent raised his rifle and shot at her. Kat dodged out of the way, kind of expecting things to go sideways with the suspicious behaviour, and she ran towards him, pulling out one of her pistols and shooting the agent in the leg. He yelled in pain and tried to hit her with the rifle once she was close, but Kat ducked and punched the agent in the face. She punched him again, grabbing the front of his armour and raising his pistol to conk him on the head, but suddenly there was a heavy pain against the back of her head, and she felt her knees give out before everything went black.

 

\---

 

Batman copied the hard drive of the lab computer and destroyed the tower. “Any more, Oracle?” he asked, typing through his mini-computer.

“That should be the last computer, Batman. I’ve received your copies,” Oracle said.

“Hey, Bats, you might have trouble coming up soon,” Ava told him.

“Any sensors going off?” he asked as he snuck to the next area.

“Not yet, just a feeling.” She sounded apprehensive. He looked around with his mask’s thermal sensor turned on, making sure there were no other agents or militia men around. 

“Parker, what’s your location?” the Knight’s filtered voice said over the radio. Bruce’s gut started to fill with anxiety when there was no response. “Parker, report!” When she still didn’t respond, the Knight said angrily, “Batman, I am going to reign hell down upon you, you hear me, old man?! You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done.”

His voice cut out after that, and Batman decided to move faster as he stealthily took out the next team of agents. Did the Knight think he had Kat? Did he think Kat ran off and betrayed him? Batman had no idea, but whatever was going on was not good. His gut was telling him Ava was right- trouble was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> from here on out, gonna be lots of back and forth between POVs (rubs hands together) lots going on !!
> 
> also while I'm posting these, three thirty by AJR and quarter past midnight by Bastille are playing and oof yall what a coupla bops


	51. Forty-Eight

“She betrayed us, plain and simple,” Agent MacKenzie said, looking around all the unconscious men for signs of what happened.

“There’s more going on here than just that,” the Knight said, scanning the area for Katherine’s DNA.

“Just because you’ve gone soft for this kid for whatever reason,” Agent Douglass grumbled next to him as he kicked aside a stray pistol. “Doesn’t mean you can just ignore what’s in front of you-”

Douglass stopped talking as soon as the Knight wrapped his hand around his throat and held a pistol to his chin. 

“Watch your tongue, Douglass,” he said dangerously. “I’ve got enough shitheads around here, you think I won’t hesitate to get rid of one who mouths off too much?” He let go of Douglass’s throat and decked him in the jaw, sending him stumbling back. “I’m here to kill Batman, I sure as hell won’t hesitate to kill anyone who gets on my nerves or in my way. Are we clear?”

Douglass grunted and grumbled something before standing up straight and saying, “Yes, sir.”

“Anyone else have anything to say?” the Knight asked, looking to the rest of the agents behind him. No one spoke up. “Good. Now take up these posts. I’ll deal with Parker.”

He watched the agents silently disperse, and clicked on the radio. “Parker, what’s your location?” he asked. She didn’t respond.

He didn’t want to think that she’d lied to him, she’d betrayed him after everything she said, everything she’d done. It was so tempting to just get angry and throw her aside, re-add her name to the to-kill list next to Batman’s… 

“Parker, report!” he snapped. Still nothing. Maybe she really did betray him, go after Batman to warn him or something. She’d told Jason to his face that she had his back. She’d told him to his face that he could trust her.

Maybe Batman had done something. It seemed a lot more plausible that Bruce would have come out and tried to take her away and out of danger (as if it wasn’t all his fault in the first place). The thought of that man interfering even  _ more _ , making things even  _ more complicated _ was enough to make him yell into his radio as he stormed back towards the center of the warehouse, “Batman, I am going to reign hell down upon you, you hear me, old man?!” He kicked open the doors and cocked his pistols. The Arkham Knight had to keep himself from snarling into the comms system as he said, “You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> just a lil in-between


	52. Forty-Nine

“Wake up, kid. Come on, it’s time to get some things settled.”

Katherine opened her eyes, realizing she wasn’t in the warehouse anymore- or at least not any part she recognized, and quickly scrambled to her feet. As she looked around, she found a few dim lights on the walls and a couple agents with their helmets on and guns out standing around her. 

“What is this?” Katherine demanded. She backed up a step and bumped into someone. She spun around and whipped the bo staff out from the back of her belt, extending it and holding it in defensive position. “Bailey?” she asked, surprised at the sight of the agent behind her.

“Put that down,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“What is this? What’s going on?” Kat snapped, adjusting her grip and stance.

“I believe you’ve fallen into what they call, a  _ trap!! _ ” Kat’s blood turned to dry ice as the speaker started cackling and snorting. She slowly turned around and stared in horror as the Joker walked into a bit more of the light, a terrible grin on his face. “What a fun game this is going to be!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> DUN DUN


	53. Fifty

“Sir! Batman spotted! He’s in the left wing of the-” The rest of the agent’s report was cut off by a muffled scream, and then a brief bit of static before silence.

“The rest of you stand by at your secondary positions within the central of the building. Get ready for a fight,” the Knight told everyone over the radio. He waited on the catwalk as he watched Batman finish taking out his men below. Perhaps he should have stopped the vigilante from beating down on his guys, but if Jason was being honest, he didn’t care one way or another. These people were soldiers. They chose this job, chose the risks. Some of them got a thrill from fighting someone like Batman. That was their issues. Jason had bigger things to deal with. One of which being the fact that he still didn’t see Katherine anywhere… Maybe she was doing something else for Batman?

Batman knocked out the last soldier, and Jason dropped down behind him. “You’re pretty annoying, you know that?”

Batman turned around, and Jason wished he could say that the sight of the Dark Knight towering next to him didn’t flood him with mixed emotions, but then he’d be a liar. He tightened his fists at his sides. “What are you doing all this for?” Batman asked in that gruff, annoying voice.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jason asked, pulling out a pistol and running forward, fighting Batman a moment hand-to-hand, before pressing the pistol in a chink in his armour. “It’s all to kill you.”

Batman grunted as he pulled the trigger, and before he could make a grab at Jason, he threw down his spark smoke bomb and was gone.

 

\---

 

Batman injected the bullet wound with an XStat as smoke surrounded him. By the time he was on his feet and the smoke cleared, the Arkham Knight was gone.

Kat was still nowhere to be found, and now the Knight was back in the shadows. Great.

“Oracle, tell me you have something helpful,” he said, stalking over and checking his blueprints for which room to go through next. He needed to find the Knight again, not the other way around.

“You need to get to the back of the building, I have a bad feeling about it,” Ava said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> just gonna push out a bunch of chapters at once now cause they're all pretty short!!! but I'm SO EXCITED!!!!! OOF I LOVE THIS YALL


	54. Fifty-One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: 
> 
> 99% of the dialogue between Jason and Bruce from here on out is directly taken from the Batman: Arkham Knight video game. i wrote all the inner monologue stuff and thoughts and feelings and stuff pertaining to the OCs as my own original writing, but 99% of the dialogue between Bruce and Jason is taken directly from the game (i.e. 99% of their dialogue is NOT my own original writing) and most of the actions they both do (like running around through the warehouse and physically attacking each other) are the exact movements and actions from the video game as well, I just did my best to transcribe them and fit them here into my dandy lil fic. ~enjoi~

Kat’s nose was bleeding. So was the cut going from her cheek, down her lips, onto her chin. She could feel a black eye coming on. At least four of her ribs were bruised badly or fractured. She had two grazed gunshot wounds- one on her hand, one on her thigh- but no wounds from bullets entering her body (for once). Thanks to her armoured suit, the shot against her thigh would just be a bruise. She wouldn’t call herself in bad shape quite yet, but boy was she far from one-hundred-percent.

The four agents of the Knight that’d been accompanying agent Bailey were on the ground, unconscious. Bailey stood in front of her with the Joker at his side.

“Hope you’re not too tired after the appetizers!” the Joker sang with a laugh. He elbowed Bailey. “She took those chumps down in two minutes flat! I timed it!”

“Are you planning on toying with her for long?” Bailey said, irritated. “If you want to watch Batman die, we need to move on. Let’s kill her and get this over with.”

“You have no sense of production, Bailey! No idea how to  _ savour  _ a moment, how to make a kill really  _ count! _ ” the Joker said, clapping Bailey on the back.

Kat flexed her fingers around her staff. “You betrayed the Knight, Bailey. Why?”

“I didn’t put the Joker here, if you’re insinuating that,” the traitor said. “The Knight has had him locked up here for two and a half weeks, planning to kill him and Batman together. But then you showed up, back from the dead, and you’ve distracted Jason from our goal.”

Kat stared at him in shock. Did… Did he know..?  _ Everything? _

Her expression must have spoken her thoughts, because Bailey smirked and said, “I’m not sure when Jason realized that Charlotte Parker was really Kat Vantas-Wayne, his Robin replacement and the kid we killed together almost two months ago, but whatever you’ve done to distract him has been working. And I decided to enlist the Joker’s help to solve the problem of the little bird who won’t stay down.”

Kat forced herself to process everything as quickly as possible. So Bailey was a traitor, he’d figured her out before Jason even did (which was worrying), and now he was working with the Joker to kill her. Super. She could work with that.

“So you’re both going to try and kill me now, I guess? And I guess it’d be a wasted effort to just try and run for some exit?” Kat said, standing up straight.

“What a smart girl!” the Joker taunted. “You always surprise me, little Robin! Good ole Robin the first was much more of a talker, while Robin the dead- oops! I mean  _ second _ \- hee hee!” The Joker stalked towards her, and Kat held her ground despite all her instincts screaming at her to get away. She would  _ not _ be afraid of this monster. She would take him down, one way or another. “That Robin always talked with his fists. But you-” Joker grabbed Kat’s chin and smiled wide. “You’re a mix of both, aren’t you, little bird?”

Maybe Batman and Jason would find her before things got out of hand. That’d be swell. 

Kat swung her staff up and whacked the Joker in the head, satisfyingly knocking him over a few steps, and she pulled out her second pistol (and only remaining gun- she must have dropped the other one when they knocked her out) and shot the Joker in the shoulder. It was endlessly infuriating how he howled with laughter instead of in pain. His giggles and snickers set her teeth on edge. 

“A real firecracker! I love it!” the Joker yelled. “A gun! A batkid with a gun! Revolutionary!”

“Which of you am I going to take down first?” Kat asked, looking between the Joker and Bailey. Her eyes settled on the traitorous agent. “Or are we doing two-versus-one?”

“You’re out of your league, pipsqueak,” Bailey said with a sigh. “Don’t care how much training you got from the Bat. You’re dead.”

“Two-versus-one then,” Kat said, holstering her gun again. “My favourite.”

 

\---

 

Batman jumped up from the grates and went to work knocking out guards left and right. These seemed to put up more of a fight than the others. They had more armour, some of them with those shock plates on their breastplates, and most of them were more burly types, bigger guns and melee weapons. 

“Ava says the Joker’s in the building. I’ve tapped into your mask so we’re seeing what you’re seeing, and I think her plan’s working a little too well,” Oracle reported.

“What does that mean?” Batman asked as he socked a goon in the nose. He disrupted the shock plate on another thug and threw his fist into their sternum, jumping into a kick to their gut and knocking them across the platform.

“Big…  _ big _ headache..,” Ava said over the comms with a groan. “The Joker’s below, basement level. The Knight is gonna try to kill you, but that’s about all I’m getting. None of this was supposed to happen… Jason was supposed to be… someone else, but....”

“Be careful, there’s a lot of thugs in this building, Batman,” Oracle said. “Give me the word and I’ll call for my dad to send some police cars to start cleaning up.”

“Noted. Ava, take a break. Make sure she sits down away from her laptop for a while,” Batman said. “I’ve got all the information I need for now. Let me know if anything changes.”

“Got it. Oracle out.”

The radios went silent as Batman finished wiping the floor with the Knight’s men. Once there was nothing but the whimpering and groans of the goons, Batman went to the main computer console that housed information and security records for the warehouse. If he hacked into this, he could get some ideas of what’s been going on lately. Maybe he’d learn what happened to the Joker if-

“Turn around.”

Batman slowly stood up straight and turned. About fifteen feet behind him, the Arkham Knight stood with a gun trained right at him.

He stared at the man, stared at his silver helmet with digital eyes, his silver armour and unwavering stance.

The question came out of his mouth before he could let his anxieties make him second guess himself.

“Who are you?”

Ava’s words echoed in his head, but he pushed them away. If Jason was the Arkham Knight… well… He was about to find out.

“You really have no idea,” the Knight said in that filtered voice, raising his hand to his helmet and releasing the visor covering his face. The mask of the Arkham Knight slid up to rest atop his head. His voice continued speaking as the visor went up, the filter disappearing as his face was revealed. “Do you, Bruce?”

Bruce’s heart constricted in his chest as he looked into the face of the Arkham Knight. His face was a bit more chiseled out, the last of the baby fat from his early teens gone from his cheeks and chin. His bangs dusted his forehead, but otherwise his hair wasn’t visible. There was a letter  _ J _ branded into the skin of his left cheek. But his eyes… Bruce knew those green eyes anywhere. With a horrific drop of his stomach, he thought to himself,  _ Ava was right. _

“Jason… You were dead,” Bruce heard himself whisper, watching as Jason started to circle him slowly, all the while keeping the gun pointed right at him.


	55. Fifty-Two

Jason officially decided that Katherine wasn’t with Batman. He’d been following Batman for the last fifteen minutes, watching the man plow through his men like they were wet tissues, and his successor had been nowhere in sight. He’d started to get a bad feeling about her, but she was capable of taking care of herself. It was time to get rid of Batman, once and for all.

He waited until the Bat knocked down the last of his men and went to inspect the warehouse main computer system to silently emerge from his hiding space and approach him.

This was the moment he’d been waiting for for a  _ long  _ time…

Jason raised his pistol and took a deep breath.

“Turn around.”

Batman froze before slowly turning to face him. Jason swore at himself for how his heart started hammering in his chest. He could admit to himself that he was anxious. Not nervous. Not scared. Just anxious. He was about to kill the man who’d completely let him down, forgotten about him, given up on him. 

_ He never gave up on you,  _ Katherine’s voice said in his head. He shoved those words right away.

“Who are you?” Batman asked.

Jason could have laughed. Of course he didn’t know. Jason made well sure there was no way in hell Bruce could have found his identity out by himself, and he’d been with Katherine ever since he revealed himself to her.

Some detective.

“You really have no idea,” Jason said, lifting his hand to retract his helmet, sending it up to rest atop his head. “Do you, Bruce?”

The change in Batman’s posture wasn’t what Jason expected, but it was still enough to make him feel a bit satisfied. Jason started circling the man as he just stared. Batman’s lips moved, muttering something.

“What’s the matter?” Jason asked, keeping his eyes on Batman’s face. “Lost for words? I expected more... I’m hurt.”

“Joker sent me the film,” Batman said, stepping towards Jason a few paces. “I saw him kill you.” His voice sounded like he was speaking the truth, genuine surprise. Jason could’ve thrown up. He remembered Katherine’s story, telling him the same thing about a video…

That didn’t change anything.

Something snapped as soon as Bruce finished speaking, and Jason stepped forward, feeling his voice rip out of his throat, “Don’t you  _ dare lie to me!! _ ” His finger tightened on his gun. He felt a wave of emotions rushing up through him. He’d practiced what he was going to say in this moment a hundred times, but words spilled out of his mouth without his consent, emotions leaking into the words themselves. “How long did it take you before replacing me, huh? A month?  _ A week? _ ”

 

\---

 

Bruce watched with horror as pure hatred, betrayal, anger showed clear as day on his son’s face. Jason may as well have shot him right through the heart as he continued yelling and said, “I  _ trusted you!!!  _ And you just  _ left me to die!!! _ ” His voice broke, though he didn’t even flinch or show he noticed, and Bruce tightened his fists.

“That’s  _ not _ what happened!” Bruce snapped, stepping towards the boy.

“You always told me, Bruce- focus on what I want to achieve, and it’ll happen,” Jason said, his voice trembling in the slightest, but otherwise completely even. “Well, you wanna know what I want now, huh?” he asked, his voice a few levels quieter than before. He started to step toward Bruce, his hand holding the pistol completely steady. “I want you,  _ dead _ .” Bruce grimaced firmly at his son as the boy shoved the barrel of the gun up under his chin.

Bruce smacked the gun away and headbutted Jason, catching the boy off guard and sending him stumbling back a few feet. Jason skidded to a stop and whipped out two more pistols, wasting no time in pointing and shooting them at the space where Bruce had been standing milliseconds ago.

Bruce watched from around the staircase he’d dashed over to as Jason looked around. “You can’t hide from me! I  _ will _ hunt you down!” Jason shouted.

Bruce watched him put his two pistols together as they locked into some sort of rifle, and he ripped the front visor of his helmet off, sliding down a bare, chrome helmet over his face. Jason grappled up to a ledge, taking a sniper position. Bruce sighed. He needed to find a way to get closer, catch him by surprise.


	56. Fifty-Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> violence ???? idk yall it’s popping off

Kat had Bailey pinned against the wall in seconds, knocking his guns away and pressing her staff against his chest and her arm to his throat. 

“You’re an idiot,” she snapped. “You’ll pay for betraying Jason.”

“That means nothing to me. You mean nothing to him,” Bailey said, coughing as she pressed her arm harder against his throat. “He killed you once, he’d kill you again. Too bad I won’t give him that chance.” He slammed his forehead against hers and kneed her in the abdomen when she loosened her arm from his neck. Kat staggered back and tried to ignore the ache in her head and the stars dancing at the edge of her vision, but a gunshot filled the air and pain blazed in her right bicep.

“No!” the Joker yelled. Kat was shoved to the ground, and she looked up just as the Joker shot one of Bailey’s dropped guns into Bailey’s gut. 

Bailey yelled in pain and staggered backwards, staring at the Joker. “You- What are you-” he stammered.

“You’ll  _ ruin this!! _ ” the Joker snarled. “Killing her will ruin  _ all _ the fun!!”

Kat looked between the men, and she met Bailey’s eyes as the Joker fired another shot, this time right into Bailey’s head. She gasped and watched with horror as Bailey collapsed to the ground, blood slowly pooling under his head and abdomen.

She wished she felt worse about Bailey dying than she did. Despite her lack of guilt, she found herself trembling, seeing the man get shot in the head every time she closed her eyes or blinked. She would be having nightmares of everything that would happen tonight, she already knew. 

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Joker said with a grin. Kat looked over to see him starting to stalk towards her, waving the gun in one hand. “We can  _ really _ get started here.”

Kat got to her feet, ignoring the burning pain in her arm and the sickness in her stomach at watching a man die right in front of her, and she held her staff in front of her. “You’re toast, Joker,” she said dangerously.

“Oh, is that so? You gonna burn me since I burned you?” the Joker said mockingly, talking a few steps toward her. He pointed the pistol at her.

“You hurt my family,” Katherine said.

“Yes, yes, your poor little bat-family. You’re all so much fun to play with!” the Joker said with a laugh. Kat lunged at him, deflecting two gunshots and hit him hard in the chest before knocking the gun out of his hands. “There’s that fire I love! Hoo hoo!! You Robins are all the same with the fire in your eyes! Poor Jason and I got very well acquainted when I-”

Kat didn’t care what he had to say next. She jumped and tackled Joker to the ground, and she didn’t hold back as she pummeled him in the face, ignoring the blood on her fists, ignoring her increased force as he laughed more and more in response.


	57. Fifty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: 
> 
> warnings from here on out pretty much include just some violence and nasty talk you could expect from the joker
> 
> also i didn't do a ton of research about kelvar, pls spare me if some stuff is incorrect

Batman snuck around the room, keeping an eye on Jason and keeping out of his line of sights. He waited until he was just below the perch his son stood on to fire up his grappling hook.

 

\---

 

Jason had a feeling Bruce would be able to stay out of his line of sights. He forced himself not to shake with anger. “It was all about you, what Joker did,” Jason called out, scanning for Bruce’s heat signature as he looked around. “He  _ ruined me _ to spite  _ you!! _ ” he yelled. God it felt good to yell all of these things out. None of his men were around, Katherine wasn’t around. It was just him and Bruce. Father and son. And he intended to get everything off his chest before he killed Bruce. He wanted him to know what he’d done, what he’d caused Jason to go through. He wanted Bruce to know how much of a failure he was. He  _ would _ hurt him.

Jason wasn’t all that surprised when Bruce grappled up to his perch and landed down in front of him. Bruce had Jason on the edge of the perch with the rifle pointed out of his face before Jason could line up a shot.

“Jason! I can help you!” Bruce insisted in that stubborn, gruff voice. Jason detected a bit of desperateness in there too.

“There’s no helping me!” Jason yelled at him. He fired a shot and wrestled free of Bruce, falling down from the perch and crushing a smoke pellet as he fell.

 

\---

 

“You’re really letting me have it, kiddo!” the Joker howled. “Much more than your old man ever did! Ha ha ha! Keep going! By all means!!”

Kat hesitated before punching him again. Bruce would be disappointed if she actually  _ did _ kill him… She didn’t even really want to kill him, it wasn’t her place. Jason deserved to be the one to pull the trigger for that one. 

“I won’t kill you,” she said, pulling out her pistol and shooting him in the shoulder. “But you’re not getting out of this warehouse tonight alive.”

“So scary! I might even believe you a little bit!” Joker grinned and managed to reach one of his arms up and grab her around the throat, throwing her off and slamming her head into the concrete floor. She felt her glasses fall off her face and clatter away. Kat gasped at the pain and clawed Joker’s hand off her neck, but by the time she did, he had a rifle dropped by one of the agents she’d taken out earlier and slammed the butt of it into her ribs. “I don’t think you’ll be leaving here alive tonight either, little baby bird!”

Dazed by the pain in her chest, Kat gasped and tried to push herself up, only for Joker to whack her in the head with the rifle and knock her back down. She couldn’t see straight. She couldn’t think straight. 

When she blinked, the Joker was suddenly kneeling above her with a knife in his hands. “I never got to see what fine work my boys did when they gave you my little surprise!” he said, spitting in her face a bit as he spoke (as if the situation wasn’t shitty enough, the Joker was a spit-talker).

Kat couldn’t lift her arms for some reason as the Joker tried cutting away at the chest of her suit.

“It’s Kevlar, idiot,” she groaned. 

“Guess I’ll have to find another entry point!” Joker grabbed her forehead and slammed her head down again. The next thing she knew, there was something burning on her right arm, and the Joker’s giggles were the only sound in the room.

Kat shook her head and picked up her gun, shooting the Joker without looking to see where, and she managed to shove him off, ignoring her entire aching body as she did. 

“Still some fight in you, I’m impressed!” Joker said, struggling to sit up as she scrambled to her feet. The Joker was holding a bleeding spot on his thigh, probably where she’d just shot him. She grabbed her staff again and holstered the gun back against her thigh, and she didn’t hold back when she hit the Joker in the head with the end of her staff. “Just- Just like Jason!”  _ Wham! _ A bruising hit to the chest. “Until I chained him up and broke him, that is!” More laughter. Kat slammed the staff against the new wound on his leg and felt a sick sense of satisfaction when she heard pain mixed in with the giggling yelp that came from his throat.

“You’re wasting your breath, freak,” Kat said, surprised at how dark her tone had become. 

“I don’t see it as a waste when we’re having so much fun!” the Joker shot back, pulling another knife from his coat and throwing it at her. She was close enough that it sliced across the top of her hand when she dodged, at least missing her chest with her movement. “Slowing down, are you?” Joker gave her a wicked grin. “The fun’s only just begun!”


	58. Fifty-Five

“I was just a kid. You turned me into a soldier, sent me to war.” The pain in Jason’s voice clawed at Bruce’s heart. He heard his son’s voice crack with grief and fury. Bruce ducked down into another grate in the floor as Jason took another shot at him. “You can’t hide, Bruce!  _ Not from me _ ,” Jason called out, enunciating the last three words very clearly.

“It wasn’t enough to lose me, though, was it? Wasn’t enough, losing one of your soldiers to your sick war,” he heard Jason shout as he traveled through the grates. “You had to bring another kid into your stupid game. Then you lost her too. And it still. Isn’t.  _ Enough! _ ” Another shot fired.

Bruce made it to Jason’s new vantage point in record time, quickly aiming his grapple gun up. He needed to try to help Jason. He needed to try and help his son.

Bruce flew up and landed in front of Jason, grabbing his arms when he landed and staring into the red tinted helmet. Jason tried to position his rifle at Bruce, so Bruce used one hand to keep it forced away, pointed back at an empty wall.

“Joker got to you,” Bruce told him. “I  _ know  _ what it’s like!” 

“ _ Don’t _ pretend to understand!” Jason cried out, enough emotion and pause from the first word to effectively drown out Bruce’s reflexes for a few seconds. Jason pulled up another smoke bomb in his moment of distraction and clicked it, disappearing from Bruce’s grasp in seconds.

“You’ll die in here! In pain,” Jason assured him from beyond a closed garage door separating parts of the warehouse. Bruce grappled over and swung in through a gap in the door once the smoke cleared, and he began searching for Jason’s new vantage point. He tried to focus on moving, getting to Jason, getting him in a position so Bruce could try to  _ talk _ to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered where Kat had run off to. Just another reason to stop Jason and get a moment for questioning.

“I learned how to take a little pain, Batman. I learned from the best,” Jason continued. “But you can’t hurt what you can’t see.” He was so angry, so set on getting his revenge and hurting Bruce as much as he could in the process, that he may not have even realized that all his talk was helping Bruce locate him each time he moved. Perhaps he did it on purpose to keep up the game. He knew Jason would never kill him by sniping him- this was personal. Jason would want to kill him up close, face to face.

Bruce took out a few more straggling militia as he moved closer to Jason’s position. Jason must have caught a glimpse of him, firing another few shots and beginning to speak again.

 

\---

 

“You’re no hero! No saviour!” Jason shouted, firing a few shots as a cape disappeared behind some crates. “You failed me. You failed Katherine. And now you’re gonna fail all of Gotham the same way!”

His heart ached. His hands shook in between shots. He couldn’t even think straight through the overflowing wash of emotions overcoming his mind. The only things he kept repeating to himself were that he needed to make sure Bruce  _ understood _ what a failure he was, to make sure he knew pain before he died, and that he needed to  _ die. _

Jason would not fail. He would not fail like Bruce had failed him.

 

\---

 

Bruce slipped when he jumped up and pinned Jason against the back wall of his position this time. His mind was running through so many different things at once, he heard himself snarl out, “Stand  _ down _ , Robin!”

Jason made a short choking sound before crying out through clenched teeth, “ _ Don’t call me that!!! _ ” Another sound caught somewhere between choking on a gasp and a sob. “That’s not who I am!!!” he yelled with a broken voice before shoving forward and slamming his head into Bruce’s. Bruce used the momentum to yank Jason backwards and threw him down and off the ledge. He heard a loud crash as he stood up, looking down and finding Jason gone, yet again.

 

\---

 

A broken wrist, two dislocated shoulders, several bleeding bullet wounds, probably internal bleeding, several cracked ribs, and this sociopath was laughing through coughed up blood.

Kat, on the other hand, was far from amused. She’d lost count of the injuries the Joker had managed to inflict upon her during their fight. She decided that trying to list them off in her head would be bad for her moral, so she forced herself not to think about the bleeding and bruising from the two cheap shots the Joker managed to get with another discarded pistol on the ground. Thankfully, her Kevlar suit had taken the bullet while her body had taken most of the force. 

Pain wasn’t anything new to her. Ignoring it and pushing through was her specialty.

The Joker babbled on while she dragged him by his legs she’d bound together with some discarded zipties she found in the basement. Jason must have used them for the Joker before Bailey had screwed everything up. She’d left the dead traitor and his unconscious friends behind as she dragged the Joker from the basement.

“Batsy will be so impressed! Or maybe disappointed?” the Joker continued on. “You took your sweet time hurting me tonight! Could it be you enjoyed dishing out pain as much as I enjoyed giving it back to you? Hoo hoo!! Ha ha ha ha!!” 

Katherine dropped the Joker and took a deep breath. She looked around, completely lost as to which part of the warehouse she was even in anymore. She tried her radio again, but it was too busted from being hit during the fighting. Her glasses were fractured too, tucked back into the case on her thigh holster, so she couldn’t even see signs on the other sides of the room from where she stood.

She had no idea if Jason or Bruce were even still here. She had no idea if she was alone with this maniac or not. She just needed to be able to get around and get some information.

The only problem being it was pretty hard to keep moving when the Joker kept springing up and doing things like somehow managing to get himself to his feet and using his arms that should have been out of commission to shove and tackle her to the ground. He tightened his hand around her throat as he punched the stab wounds he’d managed to inflict on her abdomen by pulling up her top a while ago. She didn’t even hear his taunting words, just choked and tried to pry his broken hand off of her throat. When that didn’t work, she grit her teeth and used her hands to grab him by his own neck and used pure adrenaline to flip their positions so she had him pinned to the ground. He finally released her neck as she started wailing on him again, refusing to hold back any force as her fists continued to pummel his face until finally, somehow, the laughter stopped. She wasn’t even sure when it stopped. She wasn’t sure if he was dead or not. 

But there was silence. And she drug herself off of him before collapsing to the ground and seeing black.

 

\---

 

“There’s no escape. Not this time.” 

Fire another grappling hook. Jump to the next hiding spot.

“I’m not afraid of you, Bruce. You’re not a legend to  _ me! _ ”

Slide past the militia men. Knock them out. Dodge a few bullets.

“You won’t win.  _ Not this time. _ ”

Bruce took a deep breath as he fired his grapple gun up at Jason’s new perch. This needed to end. He had to find a way to stop Jason, get him to listen.

Bruce punched the rifle out of Jason’s hands before his feet even landed on the perch, and as Jason took a step backwards, Bruce was already moving, his fist flying and connecting right with the temple of the red helmet. He heard Jason breathing hard as Bruce shoved him up against the stone wall. He ripped the plating with the symbol of the Arkham Knight off Jason’s chestplate and pressed into his shoulders again.

“You’re Robin, Jason,” Bruce insisted desperately, jabbing Jason in the chest where the Robin symbol used to sit. “You’re  _ not  _ what he made you!”

Bruce let go when Jason shoved him off, stepping back a few paces and watching Jason’s posture hunch a bit as he started to lose what remained of his composure. 

Jason shook his head, and Bruce heard another choked sob come from the helmet. “ _ Stop!!! _ ” he snapped. “ _ Stop _ talking to me!!!” He showed no sign of even realizing how his voice cracked and pitched up an octave in his words, and Bruce grabbed him as Jason rushed forward, tackling Bruce and sending them both flying down off the ledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> i feel a responsibility to inform the public that on urbandictionary there's a variation of yeet called "yeetle spegeetle" that just means "to throw spaghetti"


	59. Fifty-Six

Jason wanted him to just  _ shut up. _ He couldn’t stand to hear Bruce speak to him, call him  _ that name  _ any more!!! He couldn’t even breathe anymore. He couldn’t feel his arms. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t focus. He just wanted Bruce to stop talking to him, he  _ needed _ him to stop saying these things-

 

\---

 

They landed on the ground hard, but Bruce recovered faster than Jason who appeared too emotionally compromised at the moment to pull himself up. Bruce hated himself as he climbed on top of his son and raised his fist, ready to punch him square in the helmet-

But the display of the helmet was so damaged by this point, Bruce looked down and saw the face of his son, seething with tears streaming down his face, the bottom left of his face hidden by the glitching display of his mask.

And he looked into those green eyes filled with anger and hurt… Jason’s hands raised defensively above him, ready to recover from whatever beat down Bruce had been prepared to inflict upon him…

Bruce slowly picked himself up, lowering his fist and standing up above Jason, staring down at the boy.

Jason pushed up on his side and managed to push himself up into a sitting position. His breathing was erratic, shaky through his teeth as he growled, “ _ You… did this _ to me!”

“I’m  _ sorry _ ,” Bruce said helplessly,  _ sincerely _ , grimacing, but keeping eye contact with Jason.

“You left me to  _ rot... _ in that abandoned wing of Arkham,” Jason said, his voice weak but angry again. “For over a  _ year!!  _ With  _ him..! _ ” The last word was said with quiet, trembling vocal cords that choked on a few more tears as he pulled up another pistol and trained it right at Bruce. His hand shook slightly. His breathing was so laboured. 

Bruce stared at his son. He stared down at his poor, broken son.

“It’s not too late,” Bruce said slowly, his voice a bit more quiet, even. He extended a hand down towards Jason, his hand ignoring the barrel of the gun pointed at him. “We can fix this,” he continued carefully, hesitating before speaking the next word. “ _ Together. _ ”

Jason stared at him, his expression torn between a million things. Finally, he dropped his arm holding the pistol, defeat consuming his entire posture as his head fell, his chin hitting his chest. He didn’t say anything else. Bruce slowly dropped his own hand as the sound of Jason’s very quiet sobs raked through his ears.

Bruce sighed softly and turned away for a moment, tapping his gauntlet and opening his communication line to Alfred in the Bat-Cave.

“Alfred, it’s..,” Bruce started. His voice caught for a moment. “I’ve found Jason.”

“ _ My god _ ,” Alfred said breathlessly. “Is he alright?”

“No… No he’s not,” Bruce said, guilty resolve taking him over as he looked back and found Jason gone,  _ again. _


	60. Fifty-Seven

Jason was so tired. He was shaking as he trudged through the warehouse. 

He didn’t do it. He hadn’t been able to kill him.

And the worst part? He had no idea how to feel about it.

So he’d left, snuck off the moment Bruce looked away. But now what? His hand touched where his Arkham Knight symbol used to be, and he choked on a sob trying to escape his lips. He didn’t give a damn about the fact that he was alone now- he  _ refused  _ to let his emotions come out again. He would  _ not _ start crying again. 

Jason was tired. He would just go to one of his safehouses and try to recover from what a humiliating night this had been. Everyone back at the bunker would figure out what to do with themselves. Only Bailey had known Jason’s identity, and he was lost somewhere in the warehouse, probably unconscious from Batman’s attacks. He’d be taken to jail soon enough, so nothing to worry about there.

The only other loose end he even cared about finding brought a sick feeling to his gut when he realized that during his entire fight with Bruce, Katherine had been nowhere in sight. She’d missed the whole thing. And Jason got the worst feeling as his mind started jumping to conclusions.

It didn’t have to jump for long, though, because as Jason started making his way in the direction of the entry doors for the basement to make sure things were still in order with the Joker, he found his sister lying unmoving on her back with a lot of alarming blood splatters and puddles nearby.

He hardly even registered the fact that his mind called her his  _ sister _ , although his mind’s voice put emphasis on the title of  _ successor _ when he considered her again, rushing over and quickly kneeling down.

The first thing he noticed was that the shirt of her uniform was pulled out in the front, and a knife was stabbed into the small bit of her exposed skin, piercing a joker playing card before digging into her flesh.

The good news was that the knife wasn’t deep at all. The bad news was, well, everything else.

 

\---

 

“Oracle, I’ve copied all of the security footage and hard drive data from the warehouse’s mainframe system, did you receive the copies?” Batman said, looking at the holographic display of his bracer.

“Yup, all files received,” Barbara said. “I’m ready to destroy everything when you are. Should I go ahead and send the GCPD your way?”

“Wait, wait,” Ava pitched in. It sounded like she was moving closer from somewhere behind Barbara. “Did you find the Joker yet?”

“Not yet,” Batman said. “I need to find Kat first, then I’ll deal with the Joker. After that, you can send the police cars.”

“I don’t like the fact that you still haven’t found Kat and you haven’t checked on the Joker situation yet,” Ava said disapprovingly. “Kat should have been with either you or Jason all night. What if the Joker got her?”

“That sounds suspiciously like you’re jumping to conclusions,” Batman said as he walked through the warehouse, following his blueprints to find his way toward the basement doors.

“I’m the one with freaky psychic all-knowing power things,” Ava said with a huff. “I never jump to conclusions.”

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Barbara said with a snicker. “You do so much jumping, I bet you could get an Olympic medal for it.”

“I think this requires radio silence for a while,” Batman grumbled. “Batman out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> welcome to the falling action, pls prepare for the dénouement which comes up soon after this


	61. Fifty-Eight

Katherine was hurt pretty bad. She was lucky she wasn’t dead. Jason found himself feeling grateful she wasn’t dead too. 

It took a minute of verbal coaxing and patting her face, frequently checking her pulse and breathing, before Katherine groaned and opened her eyes. Jason had his helmet pushed up, so, for better or for worse, she saw his face staring down at her. But she hardly seemed to notice him before widening her eyes and quickly sitting up.

“Where the-” she started to say, cutting herself off with a pitched groan since she definitely moved that knife with her quick movement.

Jason put his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him, finally seeming to realize he was there.

“Jas-Jason?” she said weakly. “Where did-” She looked around quickly. “Where is he? Where did he go?”

“You’re… not asking about Bruce, are you?” Jason asked carefully, his voice hard with a twinge of worry exposed.

Katherine grabbed the knife and pulled it out, choking on a gasp and groaning again. She stared at the bloody knife and playing card and slid her eyes over to Jason. “No,” she said firmly. “I need to find.. Need to find that sick son of a bitch.”

Jason didn’t even have to try to hold her down as she started to push herself up to her feet. He kept his hands on her shoulders, and she could hardly manage to shrug her shoulders in attempt to brush him off. 

“He’s not in the basement?” Jason asked quickly. “What happened?”

“No time. He’s running… Aw, hell,” Katherine murmured, placing a hand on her head and slumping down into herself. “Bailey... betrayed you. Started working with- with the Joker, let him go. Took me down there and tried to kill me. Joker killed Bailey... I almost killed Joker. Tried to bring that heavy pile of... sociopathic shit up here, but clearly,” she managed to say, breathing hard. “It didn’t work out too well.”

Jason tried to take in everything she was telling him… Bailey betrayed him for the Joker? That was a bit upsetting. Hopefully his traitorous damage didn’t extend any farther than the events of the night. At least the motherfucker was dead, although Jason wished he could have done it himself. And she said she  _ almost _ killed the Joker… He figured it was best not to ask much more about that right now. She wasn’t in any state to give him a full story.

She wasn’t in any state to do much of anything but probably die soon, actually. Jason had a safehouse not too far away. He could take her there, patch her up, they could work out this Joker problem together.

But…

Jason stared at her as she slowly tried shifting her weight to attempt sitting in a different position. She was muttering something. She was bleeding. If she didn’t get help soon, she’d probably die… For good, this time.

And he realized… He couldn’t take her with him. She needed the technology in the Bat-Cave. She needed Alfred’s medical touch that was worlds more impressive than his own. It hurt him to admit to himself that he didn’t want to be completely alone again. It hurt worse to admit that deep down, he wanted nothing more than to go back to the Cave with her, maybe lock himself in his old room for a while and speak with Katherine again once she recovered a bit. He didn’t want to trust her after everything, and perhaps it was a result of the intense emotional turmoil he’d experienced tonight, but Jason didn’t have the energy anymore for his defensive stubbornness… He would let himself say, at least for tonight, that he didn’t want to be without the only person who his gut told him was safe, the only person he’d told his secrets to… And yet...

“I’m sorry,” Katherine said, finally clearing her voice up enough for him to understand. Jason looked at her face and found her giving him a tired but guilty expression. “I broke my promise. I left… left you alone… Did you... kill... him?”

Jason ducked his head down briefly and returned his eyes to her blue ones. “Don’t apologize. Don’t worry about it,” Jason told her carefully. “I lied too. I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t.” His confession was hardly above a whisper, but Katherine put one hand on his face, and Jason took a deep breath. He put her arms around his neck and very,  _ very _ carefully put his arms around her back and under her legs before slowly standing up with Katherine in his arms.

“What.. .What’re.. Doing..?” she managed to say with a groan. Her head lolled a little before resting between her arm and his neck. He could feel her weakly trying to hold onto him, could hear her heavy breathing from the pain she was in.

“Getting you help,” Jason said plainly, missing whatever she mumbled next as he started walking. He barely got into the next room before he felt her pass out in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> got me crying in the club up in here


	62. Fifty-Nine

Batman flinched and pressed his hands to the ears of his cowl as a loud, shrill alarm started ringing through his communication system.

“Oracle- do you read?” he snapped through gritted teeth.

“Yes-  _ augh _ \- I hear the alarm, too. It’s being broadcast remotely from the Arkham Knight’s communication systems,” Barbara reported quickly. “Looks like the signal is back behind you.”

“Please find it quickly,” Ava whined.

Batman checked for the signal broadcast on his holo-map of the warehouse and grimaced when he found it was back where he and Jason first started fighting, by the main computers of the building. “On it,” Batman said as he turned and quickly made his way back into that area of the warehouse.

Jason was nowhere in sight, but he could hear the alarm outside of his communication radio once he entered the main room. He switched on his heat sensors just for the hell of it, and found one that appeared to be near the source of the alarm. As Batman neared the person and the alarm, he froze for a millisecond before dashing over as fast as his legs could carry him. He dropped to his knees, picking up the blaring, discarded radio set neatly on the ground, and crushed it in his hand, finding momentary relief as the alarm stopped whining in his ears.

But his lungs felt constricted as he looked down at a very bloodied and battered Kat, lying unconscious on the ground with the red-tinted helmet sitting next to her head.

 

\---

 

“My word,” Alfred whispered as Bruce carried the body of his daughter out of the Batmobile. He stood next to the medical station he’d prepared upon Bruce’s urgent order ten minutes ago. “She’s unconscious?” he asked Bruce once he was laying the girl down on the table.

“Yes,” Bruce said plainly. “Multiple stab wounds, several bullets lodged into her armour, probably some internal bleeding. And I have no idea how long she’s been like this.”

Alfred moved with as much speed as was safe as he carefully removed the bullets from her armour before removing the Kevlar suit itself. The damage was enough to make Alfred’s stomach turn, but he would have time for being sick once she was stabilized.

The most upsetting thing by far, was that when the shirt of her armour was removed, a single joker playing card, pristine and white, fell from the inside of the fabric and landed on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> BEEN LEADING UP TO THESE NEXT PARTS FOR YEARS, FEELS LIKE


	63. Sixty

“Master Bruce, you need medical attention yourself,” Alfred insisted for the fourth time.

“I’ll be fine, Alfred,” Bruce said, tightening his crossed arms.

The butler sighed. “I’ll be back shortly,” Bruce heard him say. The next sound was the door to the bedroom closing quietly as Alfred left.

Bruce sighed and sat down on the edge of Kat’s bed, taking her hand gently in his. Alfred had stitched her up and bandaged her wounds, but even as she lay cleaned up and in her bed, the bruises visible on her skin and the EKG monitor very quietly beeping nearby reminded him constantly of the many horrible mistakes he’d made in the last several hours- the last several months, actually.

Katherine had come to briefly several times while Alfred had been tending to her, although Bruce was pretty sure she’d been only slightly conscious. She’d hardly muttered anything cohesive, but it was good news to find out she wasn’t in a coma or anything serious.

Now she seemed to just sleep more or less peacefully, her chest rising and falling evenly as Bruce watched. She was usually able to hide how young she was with the confidence and humour she shielded herself with, but at times like these, whenever he caught her in vulnerable moments, Bruce could see her youth clear as day. It made his chest ache to see his daughter, only barely sixteen, lying in bed with numerous injuries that could have been fatal had she not been so well trained. He almost started to think to himself that if he’d never agreed to train her in the first place, she wouldn’t have been injured at all, but he knew she might have gotten herself into worse trouble with her financial and mental states by this point had he never taken her in.

This was just part of the job. She knew the risks. She wouldn’t regret anything, it just wasn’t in her nature.

Bruce had to live with that. And he had to live with himself.

He used his other hand to brush her bangs off her face and adjust how they fell next to her head, pausing to caress her cheek gently. 

He wished he could have gotten Jason to come home. He didn’t know how to feel about how it seemed that Jason had left Kat with that alarm blaring specifically so Bruce would go find her. He’d wondered briefly if Jason had been the one to leave her in that condition, but the Joker card found in her clothes had confirmed two things: Kat’s disappearance the entire night had been because of the Joker, and now he was on the loose again.

The Joker’s captivity, however, was another problem for another day. All he cared about right now were his children, and only one of them was in front of him at the moment, therefore she was where his attention lay. 

Bruce sighed and kissed her hand gently. There was so much they would need to talk about, and it would take a while for her to be able to recover enough to even think about how to go forward from here. He didn’t know if she would want to be Robin again. He didn’t know if  _ he _ wanted her to be Robin again. He doubted she would give up crime fighting if he didn’t let her come back, and at least if she was at his side, he may be able to protect her better than if she tried to run off on her own like Dick.

_ Stop it, _ he told himself.  _ There are more important things to think about. _

As if on cue, Alfred returned, and Bruce gently laid Kat’s hand back down before moving to the other side of the room so Alfred could tend to his own wounds.

 

\---

 

The only reason-  _ The only reason!!! _ \- that Ava was pacing around her own apartment instead of at Wayne Manor at Kat’s bedside was because Bruce had threatened to lock her out of the manor and Cave if she didn’t stay home until he called to tell her otherwise. And the only reason that stopped her was that she knew (well, Bruce pointed it out) that Kat would be upset if she made a scene with Bruce. She also knew Kat would invite her over as soon as she was awake and able, so the only thing causing Ava grief at the moment was that Kat wasn’t in her direct line of sight. She was finally fucking home, two goddamn months of her hero-family bullshit, and Ava  _ still _ wasn’t able to see her.

Bruce gave her and Barbara the briefest explanation of how he found Kat but no Joker in the warehouse after Jason got away. He gave no details other than that Kat was hurt, though nothing life-threatening. Alfred had assured her doubly that Kat would be fine after some rest, and that Ava would be able to come by once she was up and at ‘em again. It was around two in the morning or so when Bruce got her home, and now it was nearing eight-thirty. Kat should wake up before evening, and Ava would know more then.

She just desperately wanted to be there  _ now. _ Kat would’ve let her come by if she’d been awake enough to consent to it. Of course, it was still Bruce’s house, so his word was final, but he wouldn’t have objected if Kat hadn’t been hurt and unconscious. 

But since she  _ was _ hurt and unconscious, Ava had to deal with the cards that were dealt. She hated them all. She itched to be with her best friend, her  _ soulmate _ , but she just kept telling herself that doing what Bruce said was what was best for Kat for now.

She sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands, sighing for the millionth time and trying to figure out what to do with herself.


	64. Sixty-One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> REONION TIME

Kat was more than familiar with the fact that being alive hurt more than being dead. And each time she was reminded of it, she felt herself get more and more bitter. 

Once she realized she was alive and awake, she opened her eyes a little and felt confused. The room was dimly lit (thankfully), and it seemed familiar. She was laying down, and it didn’t feel like the ground, so she guessed she was probably in a bed. But.. where? Was she back in her room in the bunker of the Arkham Knight?

Just as she wondered that, she remembered being in the warehouse with Jason after her fighting with the Joker. Her heartbeat picked up when she realized the Joker had gotten away. Kat became aware of a rapid beeping noise off to the side as she quickly tried to push herself up, ignoring her screaming bones and muscles-

“Whoa, whoa, take it easy.”

Katherine focused her eyes as two weights pushed her shoulders back down gently but firmly. And she realized that standing over her with his hands on her shoulders… was Bruce.

She gaped at him, mouth open and everything. Was she hallucinating? There was no way she was home… was there? She could have looked around, but her eyes were stuck on his face… Concern and guilt were very clear in Bruce’s expression. It was so different from the scowl of Batman and the anger and disappointment from her other hallucinations.

Kat’s mouth felt dry, but she tried to speak anyway, lifting a hand very tentatively up towards his face. “A-Are… Is this… real?” she asked quietly, her voice surprising her with how hoarse and cracked it sounded.

Bruce lifted up a hand from her shoulder and covered her hand with his, pressing her palm to his cheek and staring into her eyes as he said, “Yes. This is real. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

Kat gasped softly as her hand touched his warm cheek. That had never happened in her hallucinations or dreams. This touch was gentle and warm. She could feel his weight against her and against the bed. He was telling the truth.

And knowing that made something snap, and tears quickly welled up in the corners of her eyes. “I- I- I’m so-” she stammered, lifting her other hand to her mouth. “So s-sor-sorry-”

Bruce shushed her and quickly wrapped his arms around behind her, pulling her into his arms in a hug. He held her against him, and she broke down into uncontrolled sobs, crying into his chest as she wrapped her arms around him best she could, desperately grabbing fistfulls of his shirt and holding tight to him as much as she could.

“Don’t apologize for anything,” he murmured, holding her a little tighter to him. “Everything’s okay now. Everything’s alright. You’re home. You’re safe.”

Kat couldn’t even respond. She couldn’t control her tears or hold anything back. Her body ached and yelled in pain, but she sure as hell wasn’t letting go of Bruce any time soon, even if it meant she was probably popping a few stitches or splitting open a few cuts. 

“I love you,” she managed to say weakly between tears. “I m-missed you  _ so much _ .”

“I missed you too,” Bruce said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and gently rubbing her back with one hand. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> TEARS, YALL


	65. Sixty-Two

“So what’s the damage?”

“Lots of bruised ribs, sprained left shoulder, multiple shallow stab wounds in your lower abdomen, two very painful wounds in your right thigh from bullet wounds, one of which damaged your medial femoral circumflex artery and resulted in my having to surgically repair it. That one will be especially painful during recovery.”

Kat winced and rubbed her thigh idly, sighing before looking back at Alfred. “I assume that’s not all?” she asked tentatively.

Alfred held out a hand and began counting off on his fingers. “Multiple bruises of varying degrees of injury on your neck and arms, a minor concussion, bruises on your jaw and a black eye, a split lip, various cuts on your hands and face,” Alfred continued, taking a big breath and switching hands. “Graze wounds from a bullet on your left hand and wrist, deep bruising on your right bicep from internal bleeding caused by a bullet that was lodged in your armour, copious amounts of bruising and cuts on your knuckles, and cuts inflicted by a knife on your right forearm that I would not suggest examining until the wound begins to show that it will stabilize and begin to close. Do be sure to treat that arm with care for the time being.”

Kat blinked and looked at Bruce. He had his lips pursed, but he was watching her carefully to see how she took hearing of all the injuries. She swallowed and glanced back at Alfred. “So, I’m kinda bad off,” she said, lifting her left hand in a half shrug. “But compared to how I left the Joker, all this is nothing. I don’t know if that’s reassuring or not to you guys, but it makes me feel better.” She dropped her head and sighed. 

“How did you even get into a fight with the Joker?” Bruce asked, sitting back down on the bed next to her legs.

“Before I get into that, you guys know, like, everything, right? That Jason is the Arkham Knight? All that stuff?” she asked, carefully looking between her father and Alfred.

“Yes,” Alfred said with a nod.

“Jason exposed himself to me, told me some things. But the Arkham Knight hasn’t been seen since that night, and I had the GCPD clean up his remaining men in the warehouse,” Bruce said.

Kat pursed her lips and nodded once. “Well. One of Jason’s men betrayed him. He somehow found out my and Jason’s identities. He was there the night Jason shot me and blew up that building we swung into, and when he found out that I wasn’t actually dead and had- uh,  _ accidentally _ , although I think he thought I did it on purpose- snuck into the Arkham Knight’s little militia thing, he wanted to kill me to make sure Jason’s whole mission to kill  _ you _ wasn’t completely compromised.” Kat rolled her eyes and rubbed her shoulder idly. “So this idiot got the grand idea to team up with the Joker, who Jason had locked up in the basement of that warehouse, probably waiting to kill him at some point after robbing him dry and destroying his entire, like,  _ everything. _ Anyway, so the Joker definitely killed that guy as soon as he tried to kill me, because the Joker wanted to mess with me like he did Jason. But unlike Jason at the time he got kidnapped,” Kat continued, looking up at Bruce with a very restrained smile of pride on her lips. “I’ve had special training for lots of the Joker’s tricks and games. A lot of these wounds are from fighting off the traitor and some of the other guys with him.” 

She had no idea how Bruce would feel about her bringing up Jason to prove that she’d fought the Joker as smart as she could, used his training to the fullest in the situation she was put in. She was worried he would just be more upset, but her breath caught in her throat as a tiny smile appeared on his lips, and his hand reached over to gently ruffle her hair.

“Keep going,” he said. Relief washed over her, and she was able to take a deep breath of clearer air.

“So I roughed him up a lot, dislocated his shoulders and broke his hands to try and put him at some disadvantages, but that bastard really doesn’t know or care about when to quit,” Kat said. “Although, it became easier to apprehend him after that stuff, so I started dragging him out of the basement and into the main parts of the warehouse again. I didn’t know if you or Jason were even still there or if he’d killed you or anything, and my radio was busted so I couldn’t do anything. My glasses were messed up, so I couldn’t see some stuff. It was a real jam, I tell ya.” She shook her head dramatically, and she heard Alfred breathe loudly from his nose, and she caught a glimpse of a small smile on his lips as he dipped his head down and shook his head. “Anyway, the freak still managed to knock me over, and I managed to knock him out, and after that, things get kind of fuzzy. I think I talked to Jason… He said he didn’t kill you, which was good. But I don’t know where he went.”

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “I don’t know where he went either,” he admitted. “He ran away after… our confrontation. A few minutes later, the frequency on his radio channel had an alarm going off, and I traced it back to a single radio that had been rigged to blare an alarm. It was sitting next to you, on the ground, unconscious, with his helmet next to you.”

“But.. he was gone?” Kat asked carefully. Bruce nodded, and she sighed. “Typical.” She raised her eyebrows a little at Bruce. “You’re… probably not gonna let me just run off to try and track him down, are you?”

Bruce actually laughed and patted her less-injured thigh gently. “Not a chance, kiddo. That was funny, though,” he said with a very dad-like grin. “We’re going to have a conversation about your future endeavors in and out of the mask and tights later, but I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to know that as long as you’re my partner, you’re never doing undercover work like this again.”

Kat was about to agree, she’d figured as much, when she froze and stared at him, focusing on a few words in particular. “Wait… So… That means… Once I’m better and stuff, I can come back? I can be Robin again?” she asked slowly, treading very carefully.

Bruce regarded her with an expression she couldn’t quite read and said, “We’ll discuss it later, but… I think we can work something out.” He smiled at the grin that spread across her face and stood up. “Let Alfred make sure your stitches haven’t popped again, and call Ava if you’re ready to face her. She’s been sending me very strongly worded text messages and voicemails for hours.” He kissed her head and gestured to her phone on the bedside table. “I’ll go make lunch.”

“My, my,” Alfred said as he moved over to Kat on the bed, eyeing Bruce as he headed for the door. “Katherine agreeing to rest until her wounds heal, and Bruce is making lunch. In all my years, things truly continue to surprise me around here,” he said, smiling as Kat gave him a sheepish smile. 

“Gotta keep you on your toes!” Bruce remarked as he left the room.

Alfred shook his head, and Kat hugged him when he approached her.

“I missed you, Alfred,” she said, pressing her face into his chest.

Alfred hugged her back carefully, minding her injured ribs. “I missed you too, dear. It wasn’t the same without you.”

 

\---

 

“You fucking bitch. I love you so much, but holy hell, Katherine Kit-Kat Ann Vantas Wayne- I am so glad you’re fucking alive, but get ready to die cause I’m going to  _ kill you  _ for how worried you’ve made me for  _ two. Goddamn. Months. _ ” Ava stormed into the room as she spoke and hugged Kat tighter than necessary, probably to hurt her a bit on purpose, but Kat could feel the emotion, relief, anger, and love in the physical gesture. She could also feel some of her bones shifting in her torso. Some of her organs felt like they might pop. Boy was this some constricting love.

“I- I probably can’t say sorry enough, can I?” Kat managed to squeak out.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Ava said, finally releasing her from the hug but keeping her hands firmly on Katherine’s shoulders. “Oh  _ boy _ , am I so mad at you. I’m so glad you’re safe and alive and stuff. You’re really making me feel a lot of emotions, I hate you so much, but I love you, holy shit.” Kat winced as she was pulled back into another bone-fracturing hug.

“I love you too. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Please lighten up, I’ve got stitches I can feel threatening to pop,” Kat complained.

“Fine,” Ava said, releasing her and pointing a finger in Kat’s face. “But only because that would mean more work for Alfred if he had to sew you up again.”

“Of course,” Kat agreed with a small smile. She looked at Ava and was hit again with the fact that she was home and safe and Ava was (for better or for worse for her wounded body) right in front of her, angry and yelling, but still. Kat hugged her friend and put her face against her shoulder. “I missed you so much. I love you. I’m sorry. And I promise I’ll say all that all over again as much as you want, but that was my sincere and from the heart instance.”

Ava hugged her back, surprisingly more gentle than before, and kissed her friend’s head. “Yeah, well… You better get ready cause you’re gonna be saying all that a lot for the next, like,  _ forever _ . Or until I’m satisfied. Got it?”

“Whatever,” Kat said with a smile.

The pair sat down on Kat’s bed as Alfred brought in a tray of tea, doing another check of her injuries since Ava seemed to be finished testing his mends for the moment.

“Do you want to… Can you talk about everything?” Ava asked carefully, watching Kat as the younger girl winced with movement of her torso while Alfred looked her over.

“You’re not demanding details?” Kat asked, giving Ava a weak smile. “Colour me surprised.”

“Seriously, I know it’s been a lot. A lot has happened,” Ava said evenly, her expression sincere. “I don’t want to ask you for details if you aren’t ready to talk about anything yet.”

Kat took a deep breath and let the smile fall from her lips. She knew she didn’t have to put up an act for Ava and pretend she was okay. It was her default state to smile and joke on the outside and deal with the serious stuff on the inside. It was easier that way. But Ava deserved to know the truth, so she would have to face it without her barriers up for now.

“I..,” Kat began, taking a deep breath and slumping against her pile of pillows once Alfred left. “I don’t know, honestly.” She hugged one pillow gently to her chest. “I’m kind of a mess of mixed emotions at the moment, you know? About… everything.”

“Bruce filled me in on the stuff that happened at the warehouse with Jason and the Joker,” Ava said, frowning at the Joker’s name as if she was disgusted to even utter it. “I’ll want all the details eventually, but whatever is easiest for you for now, I can handle.”

But Kat didn’t even  _ know _ what was easiest to talk about. Everything kind of sucked. She really wanted to talk about Jason to someone who wasn’t Bruce. But what did she even want to say? What even  _ was _ there to say? That was the real problem. And it hurt to even think about what he could be up to right now. She’d told him she had his back no matter what, and here she was sitting in her comfy bed in a mansion while he was off trying to deal with everything he’d been working towards for months all going to shit in one night.

She was glad to be home. It was almost all she’d been wanting for  _ weeks _ … but now, she greedily wished Jason was with her. She felt guilty that he was off somewhere hurting alone, and she was sitting with her family recovering in her warm bed.

No- not just her family- it was  _ their  _ family, even if Jason didn’t want to associate himself as part of the family anymore. He was family.

“I guess… You probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the food at Arkham sucks,” Kat started, giving Ava a careful smile. Arkham seemed so long ago, and all the shit that happened there seemed so miniscule in comparison to everything around them. It felt… safer to talk about, she guessed. “Although,” she continued. “Maybe I just got the worst of the  _ mush _ because I wasn’t the most cooperative inmate-patient.”

Ava scooted closer to her and smiled. “Good, I was hoping you would start with your stories from the brig.”

Kat laughed and rubbed her sore ribs. “ _ Brig _ might be a light term for that place, to be honest. The guards would get bored and have us fight each other sometimes,” she said. “There was this guy I fought, like, three or four times, and I don’t know what his name was, but they called him  _ Bingo _ -”

There was a knock on the doorframe, and the girls looked over to see Bruce standing there with a cautious expression. 

“Ah, perfect timing, Bruce,” Ava said. “Kat’s telling us her prison stories.”

“Oh dear,” he said, smirking a little once Kat gave him a weary smile. “Glad I'm not going to miss the stories from the clink.”

Kat rolled her eyes as Bruce walked up to the bed, taking the place next to her legs as Ava moved to sit next to her at the head of the bed.

“Seriously? First the brig, now the clink? You guys need to find places other than 50s gang movies for your prison vernacular,” she said with a laugh, her heart warming at Bruce’s grin.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ava said, waving her hand. “Get back to the story. You fought some nut named Bingo?”

“Wouldn't call it much of a fight, really. I had him nailed in, like, a minute.”

“A whole minute? I’m disappointed,” Bruce teased.

“What can I say, I tried to have some fun with the guy,” Kat said. Bruce just smiled at her, and Ava made a comment about her “rugged teenage toughness”. She looked at them, took a deep breath, and she decided to stop feeling bad about everything and enjoy this time with the people she loved, the people she had dearly missed for so long.

There would always be time for sadness later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> comments and kudos in exchange for more prison stories


	66. Sixty-Three

It was another day (mostly spent sleeping on and off) before Kat took a shower and properly cleaned herself up. Needless to say, her self-proclaimed average-to-below-average general appearance already wasn't all that _with_ her clothes on, and now that she'd finished her vacation visiting several layers of hell, her souvenirs really didn't do much to boost that confidence. When she stripped for a shower in the bathroom, she groaned at the mess she found, all the bruising, discolouration, stitches, cuts, et cetera that littered her body.

The Bat brand was finally healed and old enough that she didn't really cringe at the sight of it anymore. Besides, there was something new to disturb her; she'd almost forgotten how she'd momentarily blacked out as it happened, but a letter _J,_ not too different from the one on Jason’s cheek, was crudely cut- no, _carved_ \- into her right forearm, a few inches below the elbow. She felt sick mostly at the realization that Bruce and Alfred had definitely already seen it and knew it was there. She wished she could apologize enough for everything she put them through.

But for now, she simply sighed and got into the shower, letting the warm water try and soothe her muscles for a while.

 

\---

 

“Batman, I've finished sorting through the data and security footage from that warehouse,” Barbara said.

Bruce pulled up Barbara onto one of the monitors. “It's been a week, Oracle. I was beginning to wonder if all that data had gotten the best of you,” he said, smirking as she rolled her eyes.

 

\---

 

Dick arrived at the manor the evening Bruce told him Kat was home and conscious again, and he’d been in the manor almost every day since. He'd gotten days off for a “family emergency” from the community center he worked for in Blüdhaven, but he'd had to go in for half a day once to sort a few things out. Kat had told him it wasn't that big of a deal, but she’d quietly requested he spend the night with her that evening. His sister passed out a little after nine, curled up against him in her bed with one hand still holding her phone in front of them with the YouTube video they'd been watching still playing.

He held her every time she spontaneously hugged him, telling her everything was okay when she started apologizing, reassuring her he loved her every time he caught her looking like she needed to hear it. Sometimes he told her just for himself. She smiled all the same.

It’d been a week, and when Dick knocked on her open door one night, something seemed wrong. She sat on the floor looking like she was taking a break from stretching. He’d been helping her pace herself with getting back into the swing of regular exercising since she needed to take it easy, and he figured she wouldn’t lay off enough if someone didn’t assist her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, watching as she slowly raised her eyes from the floor to his face, a strange look in her expression.

“Can you.. close the door?” she asked quietly.

Dick obliged, giving her a worried look when he turned back around. “What's the matter?”

She seemed to struggle to say whatever was on her mind, but finally, she took a deep breath, moving her eyes tentatively back to his. “Can we… Can I talk to you about Jason?” she asked slowly.

That certainly caught him by surprise- she'd mostly steered clear of the topic of their missing brother, and he hadn't been sure who she would eventually talk to about Jason. Dick was glad she chose him, however, and quickly moved over, sitting next to her on the floor. “I’m all ears,” he said with a gentle smile. “What's on your mind?”

She pursed her lips, pulling her legs into butterfly position and resting her forearms over her knees. “I…” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, dipping her head down slightly and mumbling, “I don't know where to start.”

“Just say whatever comes to mind first,” he offered.

Kat adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath. “I feel like I should hate him. And I feel like it was all for nothing.”

That sure wasn't what he expected her to say. And he wasn't sure what she meant by the first part of her confession, so he tackled the easier part first. “Because you didn't bring him home? It sounds like he wasn't ready to come home.”

“I never got the chance to even talk to him about coming home,” she said, seeming more deflated as she spoke. “I feel like… he was so intent on his revenge, and then things started happening so fast that I didn't- I couldn't-”

“Kat,” Dick said, putting his arm around her. “You found Jason alive. And I know that the fact that he met you and got to know you had a part in the reason that both of you and Bruce left that warehouse alive. You got through to him. It wasn't all for nothing.” She just sighed again, sniffling quietly and leaning against him. “And… as for feeling like you should hate him… I…”

“He wanted me and Bruce dead. He almost killed Bruce and technically _did_ kill me a little. He probably would have tried to kill _you_ -”

“Kat-”

“I feel like I should hate him,” she continued, and Dick could hear her getting worked up. “Hate him for what he's done, who he's turned into, what he's tried to do. But… I don't. I guess we bonded or something, but… I just…”

Her emotions must have stopped her from talking because he heard another sniffle, and she pressed closer to him when he squeezed her shoulder.

“Ava is the one who told us Jason and the Arkham Knight were the same person. I didn't want it to be true, because it meant that this messed up situation was worse than we ever thought,” Dick said slowly. “It meant my sister was in more danger by being under the eye of the man who had her marked for death, and same guy trying to kill her was my brother who I’d thought was dead, who I’d mourned and buried. And I was terrified of the thought of having to bury another sibling.” He took a deep breath, not realizing his hand in his lap was shaking until he looked down and clenched it into a fist. “I should hate the Arkham Knight for what he's done to my family. But he's my brother. I could never hate him, and… I know he’s still his old self somewhere inside…” Dick took a deep breath. “It's not our faults we can't hate him despite everything. He’s our brother. And… I know he's going to come around eventually, and we'll be able to talk to him again and try to work out all this craziness together.”

Kat was silent for a while. When she finally spoke again, her voice was quiet. “I know I could find him if I went looking again. But… I don't think he wants to be found this time. So maybe I'll wait a while before looking.”

Dick couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled from his chest. He tilted his head to rest it against hers. “Do you want to keep talking about him? I'm kind of curious how it went when you finally met him.”

“He's more intense than I imagined he would be,” she said right away, earning another laugh from Dick. She smiled, too,  and continued, “I was training and he turned out to be one of the people I was training against. He's pretty good. I could read his Robin training like a book, though.”

“You think he thought the same about you and your moves?” Dick asked, feeling a bit of relief as she relaxed slightly against him.

“I doubt it,” she said. “I grabbed his nose and yanked him into a headbutt.”

“You _what?_ ” Dick asked incredulously, lifting his head and staring down at her.

She looked up at him, and his expression must have been pretty funny because she burst into laughter, sniffling and wiping tears off her cheeks as she giggled.


	67. Sixty-Four

Bruce felt sick to his stomach for many reasons. His fists were clenched so tight, a thought passed in the back of his mind that he was probably tensing those muscles too tight- he would feel the results tomorrow. 

But he couldn’t help it, tensing his entire body and breathing in short, angered breaths as he watched his daughter fighting the Joker back at the warehouse.

He’d seen her ambushed and taken to the small room where the Joker had been kept hostage, prisoner, for weeks. He’d watched her take down four armed men (they were Knight Agents, obviously the rogue ones working under the main traitor) relatively quickly before demanding information from the traitor, whose name was Bailey. Barbara had done a great job cleaning up the bad audio from the security videos, but they became even more clear as they were filtered through his own systems. 

“You always surprise me, little Robin!” the Joker was taunting, “Good ole Robin the first was much more of a talker, while Robin the dead- oops! I mean  _ second _ \- hee hee! That Robin always talked with his fists.” The Joker stalked towards her, but Kat held her ground. “But you- You’re a mix of both, aren’t you, little bird?”

Bruce could have thrown up right then. But things only got worse. She attacked the Joker, but before she could engage in a fight with both the Joker and Bailey, the Joker shot and killed Bailey, shouting like a madman, “You’ll  _ ruin this!! _ Killing her will ruin  _ all _ the fun!!”

And then he watched in horror as his daughter fought against the Joker, only guns and her staff against the most dangerous sociopath in the world.

But then she tackled him and began beating him, throwing her fists into his ever-laughing face as his blood covered her knuckles and sleeves. 

“My  _ word _ ,” Alfred’s voice said quietly behind him. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Alfred, always nearby, had been watching the tapes with him. He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t even look away.

She finally let up, and the Joker continued to taunt her, spitting out blood a few times. 

“You’re really letting me have it, kiddo! Much more than your old man ever did!” the Joker howled gleefully. 

Even with the audio as clean as he could get it, it was still tough to hear Kat as she told the Joker in a low voice, “I won’t kill you.” She shot him in the shoulder. “But you’re not getting out of this warehouse tonight alive.”

He watched them fight more, hardly hearing some of the audio as the Joker continued to taunt her and take cheap shots. He watched as Kat’s expression turned dark like he’d never seen before. Somewhere, his mind connected it to the way Jason looked at him while they’d been fighting at the same time this fight had gone on. 

She’d finally managed to daze the Joker long enough to bind his legs with some zipties, and she dragged him down a hallway, away from the basement. After a while, she looked around hopelessly, clearly lost, and tried her radio. “Hello? Anyone responding?” She tried a few more times, but the radio must have been busted, because she tossed the device away from her in frustration. 

And then the Joker managed to pull himself up, and he tackled her, choking her with one hand and punching her wounds with the other. She desperately tried to get him off, finally grabbing him by his own neck and managing to flip their positions and making him release her. And she began beating him again, beating him until his laughter finally stopped. 

Bruce heard Alfred make another noise or comment, but his head was mostly filled with the sound of static from trying to take in what he’d just watched. 

Kat sat on the motionless, bloodied body of the Joker, and cried silently as she shook and breathed heavily. Eventually, she stood up and stumbled a few feet away from his body before sliding against the wall and falling down, unconscious. 

After staring at the scene a moment, Bruce moved a shaking hand to his keyboard and fast forwarded the tape until he saw the Joker begin to stir. He seemed to take in his surroundings a moment, looking at himself, reveling in the fact that he was still alive, and quickly whipped around to look at Kat, unmoving, completely vulnerable, on the ground behind him.

And as if everything else hadn’t been bad enough, the Joker pulled out another blade from his coat and laughed as he crouched over Kat’s body, shielding his actions from the prying eyes of the camera (whether it was intentional or not… Bruce wasn’t sure). As he watched the Joker stab the knife into her body one last time, leaving it and a Joker playing card tucked in with her, Bruce felt bile rise up in his throat again as he realized that must have been when the Joker carved his filthy symbol into Kat’s arm. He’d choked when he and Alfred found it back when he’d brought her back from the warehouse. Alfred had silently cleaned the wound and wrapped it, kissing her cheek gently before moving on to other wounds. 

And now Bruce knew exactly when and how she had gotten that wound. He fought to keep himself from destroying the computer, punching it or hitting it with something. That wouldn’t take the wound away. It wouldn’t make things better.

He didn’t even have to fast forward the tape this time before something else happened- Jason approached her in the hallway, moving faster when he must have realized who it was lying bloodied on the empty hallway floor. He quickly kneeled down, hands hovering over her like he wanted to help but had no idea where to start. 

Jason went to her aid, checking her pulse and to see if she was breathing. He called her name a few times, bidding her to wake up and look at him, patting her face and moving her hair from her eyes with such gentleness, the boy crumpled from brainwashing and revenge he’d fought that night was nowhere to be found- he only saw his son Jason, the rowdy but caring and resourceful boy who was his son and had fought at his side and been his partner.

Jason was gentle as Kat came to, quickly sitting up and letting Jason put his hands on her shoulders. 

“Where is he? Where did he go?” she asked him quickly, still breathing haphazardly from her many injuries. 

“You’re… not asking about Bruce, are you?” Jason asked slowly, his voice holding guilt and concern.

That’s when Katherine pulled out the knife, groaning with a gasp. She looked at the knife and the playing card before looking up at Jason darkly. “No. I need to find… Need to find that sick son of a bitch.”

Jason surprised Bruce again by gently holding Kat down from her futile attempts at getting up. Apparently he wasn’t as hard-headed about revenge as he let on, or he only was for himself, perhaps.

Kat weakly explained everything that had happened, and Bruce watched Jason’s reactions the whole time. The camera quality, of course, could have been much better, but for what it was, Bruce could still read Jason’s expressions pretty clearly. And not once did Jason show any indication of hurting her further or aiding her in going after the Joker again.

No, the only things Bruce could see in Jason’s face were the gears turning as he tried to think of ways to help her. 

Bruce remembered a time he and Jason, back when he was Robin, had found a woman who’d tried to kill herself by walking into traffic. A car had hit her, not fast enough to kill her, but enough to break many of her bones and do her a lot of damage, and it had promptly left her there to bleed out in the street. Jason had listened to her talk and sob, and at the time, he’d watched his son’s quiet expression as he tried desperately to come up with anything to make her better, anything to help her and fix the situation. A desperate need to help, to right a horribly wrong situation.

And he saw the same look on his face now as he he had his hands on his sister’s shoulders, taking in everything she was telling him and the state she was in.

“I’m sorry,” Kat finally said. “I broke my promise. I left… left you alone… Did you… kill… him?”

Jason looked down briefly, taking a deep breath before looking back up at her. “Don’t apologize, don’t worry about it.” His voice was gentle. Sincere. “I lied too. I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t.” Bruce almost couldn’t hear him, he was so quiet. Kat put a hand on his face, and he took another deep breath before putting her arms around his neck and very slowly picking her up in his arms. She weakly asked what he was doing, but Bruce saw her arms go slack against him as she passed out again as Jason told her, “Getting you help.”

Bruce heard Alfred again, but this time it sounded like the butler might have choked on a quiet sob. Bruce realized there were tears on his own cheeks, and he slowly wiped them off as he watched Jason carry Kat all the way to the area with the main computers. He set her down more carefully than he picked her up, and he pulled the radio off his belt, typing in a code that sent the shrill alarm blaring through the communication systems and setting the device back down next to Kat. He sat on his knees next to her, looking heavily conflicted and pained at the thought of leaving her there. He took his red helmet off and sat it next to her and the radio.

And Bruce watched Jason brush Kat’s hair from her face and carefully kiss the top of her head, touching his forehead to hers for a few moments. Bruce saw himself from a different camera, quickly navigating the warehouse, and Jason must have heard him coming because he looked up and sighed. Bruce watched Jason shoot his grapple gun up and out of sight, and a moment after he disappeared, Bruce himself walked into the room.

His shaking fingers paused the video. He’d seen enough. He’d seen enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER U GUYS//// BIG TEARS


	68. Sixty-Five: Amnesty

That night, Katherine insisted on dragging herself down to the dining room for dinner. Richard insisted on going with her for supervision, which she found insulting and unnecessary, which was no surprise to Alfred. 

Dinner went smoothly, Abigail joining the family yet again, upon continued insistence to stay near Katherine at all times as much as possible.

After the meal, Richard and Abigail began towards the den for a movie, but Bruce held Katherine back a moment, urging the others to go on. It took a physical encouragement from Richard to remove Abigail from the room, but once it was only the three of them, Alfred quietly collected he dishes, listening as he always did and stealing glances he knew were his to see anyway.

“I just..,” Bruce began, sitting back down in a chair as Katherine stood before him. He took her hands gently and sighed. 

Understanding her father’s consistent troubles with speaking through his emotions, Katherine stepped forward and hugged Bruce gently, resting her head atop his own and saying quietly. “It’s okay. Whatever you got on your mind, it’s okay. Everything’s gonna be fine now.”

Bruce melted into the hug, pressing his cheek to her chest and arms wrapping careful yet firmly around her. “I love you. Never forget that. Promise me,” Bruce told her.

Alfred caught a small smile on her lips. “I won’t, Dad, I promise. I love you too.”

Alfred decided that was the right time to deliver the dishes into the kitchen, allowing the pair some solitude. As he placed the dishes in the sink to be rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher later, he found himself agreeing with Katherine most wholeheartedly. He did believe things would be fine now. They would heal, as they always had. Their family would be quite alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> I know I literally uploaded this whole thing within the timeframe of like a month and some change, so it hasn't really had much of a chance to get really a following or anything, but to everyone who has been reading throughout this time, and to everyone who will read this in the future: thank you so much!!! I appreciate everyone who takes time to read this lil story I just kinda did. I started it with the prologue that I wrote while my roommate and I watched the first christian bale batman movie, and just expanded into this monster of a fic we all see before us now. I've never finished a story of this kind of caliber before, and it's been a really fun experience writing and learning from it.
> 
> please feel free to leave comments, I love all of them and love talking to people about the beloved batfam and like all things robin, hello goodbye
> 
> thank you again everyone for support and readership here. I love you all and appreciate each and every one of you <3
> 
> the only thing left is the epilogue, and yall,, I really,,, oof (kisses fingers) magnifique
> 
> also, a brief comment: had someone ask in the comments of the last chapter why it seems like Batman cares more about the oc than Jason, and I just wanted to real quick be like,,, OOH BOY never my intention lmao. I'm just gonna copy/paste what I said in the comment real quick. cause guys I love Jason w my whole heart and my whole butt, he's a wonderful boy who bruce loves to pieces and no oc could ever come between that
> 
> "honestly don't mean for it to come off as Bruce caring more about the oc than jason!! more of like,,, I have two kids hurting so much but only One of them is in front of me at this moment and I need to prioritize for a second. but he loves Jason with his whole heart cause Jason is his Son
> 
> cause honestly like, Bruce is always like,,,,, whenever Jason comes back from the dead and he's all trying to kill Bruce and stuff, Bruce is always trying to help Jason while also not dying and not letting Jason kill anyone, so where Bruce desperately loves Jason and wants him home and okay,,, Jason doesn't want to be home right now and, like I said, he just has to kind of prioritize. he has a kid at home who needs him now, he's just going to have to deal with the issue of Jason being missing again another day"


	69. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robins reunited.

She’d been fourteen when she first donned the mask and cape, when she’d answered, for the first time, to  _ Robin. _

Now Katherine was seventeen. After a long and painful series of events the summer of the previous year, she’d finally been back in action for almost a year. Bruce had pretty much entirely forbidden her from searching for her brother Jason after the incidents, but she always  _ had _ been a bit rebellious when it came to something she was determined about. Dick knew she silently searched for their missing brother, though he said nothing, not to her or their father. His quiet support was all she needed, anyways.

Tonight, however, she is out patrolling alone. Bruce has the flu, and Alfred’s firm insistence and some high-grade NightQuil Kat had snuck into his dinner assured that he was home resting. So she quietly rounded the city, breaking up minor crimes as she came across them. Gotham seemed like it was resting tonight as well.

It’s only just past one in the morning when she decides to turn in for the evening, making her way back to her bike, ready to scold Bruce at home if he’d somehow waken up already and was moving around the house.

However, when she reaches her motorcycle, she freezes upon seeing a folded sheet of paper taped to the dashboard. She looks around, bo staff in hand, but no one’s around. She doesn’t pick up any heat signatures either. 

Tentatively, she picks up the note, clicking her bo staff back into place on the back of her belt. On the front of the folded paper is her name-  _ Robin _ , scrawled in handwriting that seemed naturally messy and less like it was rushed. Looking around once more for anyone around who may have left the note, she opens the folded paper and reads the content. There’s an address and a date and time written inside in the same penmanship as the five letters on the front of the paper. There’s no signature, but she doesn’t need to see one to have a pretty good idea at how the note came to her motorcycle.

With a deep breath, she tucks the note in her belt, climbs onto her bike, puts on her helmet and begins home, her mind moving faster than she can keep up with. She feels terrified, yet more hopeful than she has in months.

 

\---

 

Two days later, Kat finds herself in Jerry’s Diner, a quiet, locally owned diner that has been open longer than she’s been alive. It’s on the far other side of town from Wayne Manor, but in a good enough neighbourhood nonetheless. Batman and Robin rarely need to patrol the area.

But right now, it’s just past two in the afternoon, and her hands are trembling. She hides it by stirring the sixth pack of sugar into her iced tea and trying not to keep looking around as much as she actually is. She’s only been sitting there for fifteen minutes (arriving, quite nervously, thirty minutes early), but it feels like hours. A fresh bruise on her leg aches idly as she bounces her leg. She feels an old throb in a scar on her right forearm.

And suddenly, a figure who isn’t her waitress approaches the booth, carefully sliding in across from her. Kat has no idea what her expression looks like, but her companion’s is casual, anxious, tired, and… relieved, somehow all at the same time. His green eyes seem a bit brighter than last she saw them. His hair, which used to be cropped short (somewhat like a military boy cut, but a bit too long on top for military standards) is now a full, short, fluffy mess on his head; his black bangs are swept haphazardly out of his eyes, very loose and random curls fall just at the collar of his t-shirt on the back of his neck. The  _ J _ branding scar on his cheek doesn’t seem as deep as before. In fact, she notes, everything about him, even the air around him, seems somehow… lighter.

“You look much better than the last time I saw you,” he says casually, pushing up the sleeves of his red sweatshirt with a small smirk before clasping his hands in front of him on the table.

“You too,” Kat makes herself say, clearing her throat before speaking again. “You look a lot less like an angsty jerk-off I knew in middle school now.”

To her relief, he cracks a bigger smile and actually chuckles at that, lifting a hand to ruffle his hair and rub his neck.

The waitress approaches the table. “Anything I can get you dear?” she asks the newcomer. 

“Water, thanks,” he says, glancing at her with a nod. She nods back and leaves them briefly before bringing a glass of water over and telling them to take wave her down when they’re ready to order.

Kat thanks her, looking back down at her tea and holding it with both hands, desperately willing them to stay still for even just a moment.

“You look like you have something to say,” he says carefully.

Kat laughs weakly and shakes her head, bringing her hands to her face before moving them down and intertwining behind her neck. She looks back up at him. “Something? More like, a thousand things,” she says honestly. “It’s been more than a year. I’ve had  _ months  _ to build an entire questionnaire, type it with a nice font I downloaded from the internet, do several test prints before finally deciding to hand calligraphy it on expensive stationary paper and get a custom frame made and placing it immediately to the right of the front door in the foyer of the manor so I have to see it and be reminded of it every time I get home for the day.”

There’s a pause before he inclines his head a little and says, with a small, cheeky smile, “Did you really do that?”

And Kat cracks up for a minute, face in her hands, shaking her head. “Oh my god,” she breathes, running her hands through her hair as she gives him a tired expression.

He laughs a little in return before then speaking again, in a cautious tone. “So… say something, then.”

Kat hesitates before making eye contact with him and asking, “Are you okay?”

His eyes widen with surprise. “That- Really? That’s your first question? Not, where I’ve been? Why I left? Where or why anything? What happened? Et cetera, et cetera?”

“I try to prioritize,” Kat says lightly, finally taking a sip of her tea that is, unsurprisingly, still not sweet enough.

Jason breathes out a small laugh and looks down at his own hands, holding his cup of water, his thumbs making marks in the condensation. “Yeah,” he finally says after a minute or so of silence. “I think so.” He hesitates, seemingly wanting to say something else. She waits until finally, he looks back up at her. “Are you?”

She feels a small smile tugging onto her lips, and Kat takes a small breath before responding. “Yeah,” she says quietly. “I’m okay.”

The look of relief on his face is subtle, but it’s enough to make Kat’s breath catch in her throat. She forces her emotions to calm down- she will not begin crying or any emotional nonsense here, in this restaurant, in this setting. She will  _ not _ .

“Then I think we have a lot to talk about,” he says, a smirk returning to his lips. “First…” He waves over the waitress and picks up one of the menus. “I’ll take the BLT, seasoned fries on the side, chocolate milkshake, hold the cherry.” He turns to Kat and raises an eyebrow. “What’re you getting Kat? ‘S on me.”

“Well in that case,” she teases, glancing down at the menu herself. “Stack of pancakes, chocolate chips in the batter, two sides of white toast, aaaannndd, what the heck, another chocolate milkshake, no toppings.”

The waitress writes the orders down, takes the menus, and leaves with a smile.

“Two sides of toast?” Jason teases with a raised eyebrow. 

“What can I say? I like my carbs, and I burn a lot of ‘em, so I eat a ton of ‘em,” Kat says with a shrug. “Alright, Jason,” she says, leaning forward a bit onto the table and grinning at him. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Jason Todd smiles back and cracks his knuckles, his green eyes very much alive and content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> I KNOW I LEFT KINDA A SAPPY A/N ON THE LAST CHAPTER BUT I JUST WANNA SAY AGAIN HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE EVERYONE AND WANNA THANK EVERYONE WHO;S SUPPORTED ME AND THIS STORY XOXO
> 
> special thanks to my forever inspiration, the love of my life, my soulmate abby, whom you can find here on ao3 as skellyskoo!!!


End file.
